We use cookies to remember choices you make on functionality and personal features to enhance your experience to our site.
By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies. Please refer to our
privacy
and cookie policies for more information.
Francis Newton Souza (India, 1924-2002) Houses in Hampstead
oil on canvas, signed and dated '58 upper right, Gallery One label on reverse, framed 59 x 75 cm.
Footnotes
Provenance: Acquired from Gallery One by the vendor's father, circa 1960.
Souza lived in the London district of Hampstead from the mid 1950s until 1967, when he moved to New York. The area housed a vibrant artistic and intellectual community as well as providing rich architectural inspiration and lots of trees. Houses in Hampstead provides a snapshot of a typical rather than particular view, gained through Souza's intimate familiarity with the locale and perspectives obtained from the heights of Hampstead Heath. 'Scapes' (land- and townscapes) belong to Souza's stable of genres. But there is no apocalyptic vision here, nothing is shaken or stirred. In this painting, houses are not imposing white Victorian giants, with stucco-coated fronts. Rather, they are made of earthy umbers, olives and ochres, as if transported from a warm faraway land. Around the time of this painting, Souza described the 'bricks' of his pictorial building technique as geometric compounds of the square and circle. Whatever the intriguing results of Souza's 'homage to the square', this work requires a lot of looking. For the more one looks, the more is the pleasure. A homely painting of homes, heightened by strategically-placed strips of cobalt blue, a touch of ultramarine and a spot of dashing red.
This sale is now finished. If you are interested in consigning in future sales, please contact the specialist department. If you have queries about lots purchased in this sale, please contact customer services.
Buyers' Obligations
ALL BIDDERS MUST AGREE THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD BONHAMS' CONDITIONS OF SALE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, AND AGREE TO PAY THE BUYER'S PREMIUM AND ANY OTHER CHARGES MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE TO BIDDERS. THIS AFFECTS THE BIDDERS LEGAL RIGHTS.
If you have any complaints or questions about the Conditions of Sale, please contact your nearest customer services team.
Shipping Notices
For information and estimates on domestic and international shipping as well as export licences please contact Bonhams Shipping Department.
Lot symbols
*
Import low rate
Subject to import tax at a preferential rate on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.