Francis Newton Souza (12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002), commonly referred to as F. N. Souza, was an Indian artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, and was the first post-independence Indian artist to achieve high recognition in the West. Souza's style exhibited both low-life and high energy.
 

 

 

 

Oil on canvas

In recent years Souza's Paintings have been sold for over a million dollars. In 2008, his painting "Birth" (1955) set a world auction record for the most expensive Indian painting sold till then by selling for US$2.5 million (Rs 11.3 crore) at a Christie's auction. In 2015, the painting "Birth" was resold at Christie's in New York, fetching more than US$4 million.

In June 2010 Christie's held an auction of over 140 lots from the Souza Estate. Many of Souza's works fetched very high prices, some several times Christie's estimates.




Mother & Child, 1961

Acquired from Gallery One, London in 1962 by Mr. Adler an American journalist working with the BBC. The strong mother symbolism of the painting was very meaningful for the Adler family -- they bought this painting just as they were growing their family and at a time when parenthood became even more clear and personal for them. This was the first painting acquired by the family. Thence by descent.