Rating and value of paintings by Francis Newton Souza

If you own a work by or after the artist Francis Newton Souza, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Thereafter, if you wish to sell your work, we will guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Francis Newton Souza

A key figure in modern Indian painting, Francis Newton Souza is a prodigious 20th-century painter who has acquired a certain renown, based on his paintings, watercolor drawings and prints. For almost forty years, his works have been auctioned at prices ranging from €30 to €347,100, a substantial delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works. One of his paintings (acrylic on canvas) entitled Hunger sold for €3,347,100 in 2023, whereas it was estimated at between €1,338,840 and €2,008,200.  

Order of value from a single work to the most prestigious

Style and technique of artist Francis Newton Souza   

Souza is one of the pioneers of Indian abstract painting. He uses several artistic techniques, including oil paint, paint on cardboard, acrylic, charcoal and printmaking. He works extensively with colorimetry and shapes.

The life of Francis Newton Souza    

Francis Newton Souza was born in an Indian village in 1924. His father died young, and he and his mother moved to Mumbai in the aftermath. The latter remarried, making the painter Lancelot Ribeiro, a precursor of modern Indian painting, his half-brother, who probably exerted an important influence on his work.

He trained artistically at the Bombay School of Art, but was expelled for his stance in favor of Indian independence as well as for his communist commitments. Despite this, he managed to produce and exhibit his work in London as part of a retrospective on Indian art. The Indian public was not receptive to his art and found his paintings obscene and disturbing, which is why he immigrated to London in 1949. Success was not immediate, and he was rewarded for his work only after the publication of an autobiographical essay in 1955. He was then exhibited at Musgrave's gallery, and his work sold very well.

He died in 2002, after an eventful career punctuated by his political commitments and radical stances, both in his life and in his work.

Souza's imprint on his period

Souza leaves a significant mark on the history of twentieth-century art, and is one of his country's best-known painters. His considerable artistic output is the result of hard work and a long career. Souza is one of the highest-rated contemporary artists on the art market today.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Souza simply signs his canvases with his name in cursive script, at the bottom of his canvas.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by Francis Newton Souza, request a free appraisal without delay via our form on our website. A member of our team will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it. If you're thinking of selling your work, our specialists will also be on hand to help you find alternatives for selling it at the best possible price.