Indian Modernist M.F. Husain once described the great F.N. Souza by saying, “Souza was my mentor. He is the most significant painter, almost a genius.” Such accolades are fitting for a name etched among the greats of Indian art, who co-founded the Progressive Artists’ Group alongside other visionary artists.
In recent years, renewed interest in Souza’s work has led to impressive sales, with one painting recently fetching USD 4 million in New York.
While artists, critics, and art students continue to extensively analyse his works, his letters to his daughter, artist Keren Souza Kohn, offer a unique insight into the dotting father. These letters have found a place in books and in auctions fetching a big amount. However, he was not applauded by his homeland when he was alive.
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Keren, who was in Goa for the centenary birth celebration of her father, fondly recalls receiving her first letter at nine: “I began to receive the most exciting mixed media letters from my fabulous, groovy dad! I was very proud of them and took them to school to show off to my friends!” As an “encouraging, supportive, educational, and informative dad,” Souza would introduce Keren to the exponents of various styles and movements, send telegrams for exhibition openings, and proudly introduce her to gallery owners and collectors. She recalls these moments with fondness.
In a 1980 letter to Keren on her birthday, Souza reminisced about the day she was born, which coincided with the opening of his second art show in Paris in 1956. He had met her mother during his first show at Gallery One, and by the time his second show came around, his daughter was about to enter the world. He wrote, “Creation within creation. So you were born on an auspicious day, Keren. People talked about you on the day you were born. You are famous!” The proud father went on to address his daughter as a “grown-up girl, a lovely young woman—and perhaps you may even be more famous than your father ever hoped to be.”
In another letter, he mentions a unique paper he created that was also used for his paintings. Keren explains, “My father was in the excellent company of so many other geniuses in the world, who lived and created in dire poverty. Thus, my father invented paintless paintings when he couldn’t afford paint, by taking magazine pages and shifting the inks to suit him, he created hundreds of magnificent works of art.”
Souzas & Goa
Souza’s connection with Goa entered his paintings through the small-format watercolors of Goan landscapes in the late 1940s. Keren’s first visit to her father’s homeland was one early morning on a ship from Bombay in the 80’s soaking up the palms and exquisitely shaped grand houses. She recently revisited Saligao with her son Solomon, a famed artist, to celebrate the 100 years of the great artist. “I feel my father everywhere and see his pictures and his paintings. I am constantly moving through a Souza scape here in Goa. The high key-coloured houses are set in graceful, lush foliage. I am embraced and absorbed into the warm friendly variety of people dressed in their fabulous, coloured garments. And of course, the food, I love the spices & chilies! Goa is still just as delightful today just a bit busier!
Perhaps, someday, the son of Goa will get the recognition he deserves in his homeland.
