Francis Newton Souza, Indian, 1924 to 2002, a Cubist oil painting on board depicting a portrait of a man, 1998. Signed and dated in the middle right. Framed. Francis Newton Souza known as F.N. Souza, is one of Indias most important and prestigious contemporary painters. His artwork ranks as the most expensive by an Indian artist to have sold at auction. A founder of Mumbais highly influential Progressive Artists Group, he moved to London in the late 40s. His first recognition as an artist came in 1955, when his Nirvana of a Maggot was published in Encounter magazine. Another of his books, Words and Lines received literary acclaim when it was published in 1959. He migrated to New York in 1967 and shortly thereafter received the venerable Guggenheim International Award in recognition of his timeless and priceless contribution to the art society. Inspired by Picasso, and often referred to as the Indian Picasso, one of his more recurrent themes is that of male female conflicts. The figures that give life to his paintings are deliberately distorted and reveal an uninhibited, realistic style. At the same time, there was a visible influence of the folk art of Goa, the Renaissance paintings as well as the European landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries. One of a kind artwork. Collectible Contemporary Art, Indian Modernism.