U.S. Senator on Time Cover

Goan-born, Francis Newton Souza has become one of the most venerated Indian artists of the 20th century. Believing the work of his Indian artistic predecessors to be overly sentimental, Souza looked to Western Modernism for inspiration on how to radicalize the South Asian art world, founding the now legendary Bombay Progressives artist group in 1947. A master of line, Souza's forays into the human form are well documented and his works successfully explore a wide range of physiognomies from the most sublime of female nudes to riotous and tortured figural forms. His earlier works which mixed elements of Catholic imagery with the heavy black lines of George Rouault and tumultuous brush strokes of Chaim Soutine, gave way to crisp compositions and collapsed depth of field late in his career. In his drawings, Souza maintains an economy of line that expertly summarizes the human form in its most elemental form. We see this tendency reflected in Souza's temple dancer (lot 32) from the late 1950s, yet the use of modeling and chiaroscuro give this nude a sculpture quality that calls into mind early 20th century works by Pablo Picasso. In Time Cover from 1969, Souza uses a chemical solvent to manipulate a U.S. Senator's face into a disconcerting pulp. In choosing to conceal the form of the senator, Souza cleverly reveals the underlying issues of our political institutions.