FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002)

UNTITLED (LANDSCAPE)
ACRYLIC
SIGNED AND DATED 'SOUZA 86' UPPER RIGHT

A DENSE, RHYTHMIC CITYSCAPE OF STEEPLY GABLED, HALF-TIMBERED HOUSES CROWDED ACROSS THE COMPOSITION, DIVIDED BY A TOWERING, DARK-LIMBED TREE WHOSE BRANCHES BEAR SCATTERED LEAVES OF SOFT GREEN AND OCHRE. THE BUILDINGS ARE BUILT FROM A TANGLED LATTICE OF HEAVY BLACK OUTLINES, FILLED WITH PANELS OF TEAL, COBALT, TURQUOISE AND GLINTS OF GOLDEN YELLOW. ABOVE, A TURBULENT SKY OF SWEEPING GREEN, CREAM AND BLUE BRUSHSTROKES PRESSES DOWN ON THE ROOFTOPS, WHILE THE FOREGROUND DISSOLVES INTO A FRAGMENTED, CRYSTALLINE TANGLE OF LINES AND OVAL FORMS.

THE WORK IS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE OF SOUZA'S LATER LANDSCAPES, IN WHICH ARCHITECTURE IS FRACTURED INTO ANGULAR, ALMOST STAINED-GLASS PLANES AND BOUND TOGETHER BY HIS FORCEFUL, EXPRESSIONIST LINE. THE COOL, JEWEL-LIKE PALETTE, ENLIVENED BY WARM FLASHES OF AMBER, AND THE ENERGETIC, SCRAPED AND LAYERED PAINT SURFACE REFLECT THE ARTIST'S LONG ENGAGEMENT WITH EUROPEAN MODERNISM, AND THE TOWNSCAPES HE PAINTED AFTER SETTLING IN NEW YORK.

THESE WORKS ARE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER, MUCH LIKE THOSE BY RENOWNED ARTISTS SUCH AS M.F. HUSAIN, S.H. RAZA, F.N. SOUZA, AKBAR PADAMSEE, HEMENDRANATH MAZUMDAR, RAM KUMAR, JAMINI ROY, B. PRABHA, TYEB MEHTA, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY ARE OFTEN SOLD BY AUCTIONEERS TO COLLECTORS AROUND THE GLOBE