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"And if I could, I'd always choose evil and perversity, hell and
brimstones... Perhaps God loves me but I don't know it. I don't
know good from evil, purity from perversity, hell from pleasure,
brimstones from snowflakes, corruption from honesty... All these
are one and the same to me. I carry the burden of oneness in
nothingness."
F N SOUZA
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F N SOUZA
(1924 ‒ 2002)
The Remark
Signed and dated 'Souza 63' (upper right) and inscribed
'F.N. SOUZA / The Remark / 1963' (on the reverse)
1963
Oil on canvas
58.75 x 32.75 in (149.2 x 83 cm)
$ 200,000 ‒ 300,000
Rs 1,28,00,000 ‒ 1,92,00,000
PROVENANCE:
The London Arts Group Gallery, Detroit
Saffronart, 10‒12 May 2005, lot 38
Similar works by Souza reveal his scathing views on sexuality
Lovers
, 1964
Saffronart, 18–19 June 2008, lot 98
Sold at INR 87 lakhs (USD 218,500)
Untitled
, 1973
Saffronart, Mumbai, 10 December 2015, lot 60
Sold at INR 13 lakhs (USD 20,000)
Lovers
, 1955
Saffronart, 6–8 December 2005, lot 44
Sold at INR 6.5 crores (USD 1.48 million)
Souza moved from London to the United States in
1967. While there, he was invited to Michigan by Eugene
Schuster, who had just opened the London Arts Group
Gallery in Detroit. Schuster was an admirer of Souza’s
art, and organized a large solo show for him. The present
lot was part of this seminal show, which also included
several significant early Souza works, such as
Birth, Lovers,
and
Christ on Palm Sunday,
which are now considered
masterpieces. The present lot was retained by Schuster’s
gallery as part of its collection.
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