Francis Newton Souza, Untitled (Goan Scene), ink and watercolour on paper, £100,000 from Rob Dean.
The ink and watercolour and paper, signed and dated Souza 1940, is from the earliest period of the artist’s career. Souza was a member of the Communist Party and took inspiration from the lowest ranks of society, sometimes shocking his contemporaries.
After moving to London in the late 1940s, he established a distinctive, dark, semi-abstracted visual language that define his mature works. These have a strong set of admirers and in several cases have topped £1m on the open market.
Part of a series of works on paper Souza completed when he was 16, the work in question takes inspiration from previous art historical styles and is part of a period of “wild experimentation” for the artist, according to the gallery.
Held at (and in association with) Grosvenor Gallery, the show comprises images by both European and Indian artists.
Dean specialises in Modern and Classical Indian painting and worked at Christie’s and Sotheby’s before going independent as a gallerist, lecturer and art consultant. In 2011 he co-founded Pundoles, the Mumbai auction house which also participates in Asian Art in London.
