Souza - a barn find

Two Souza works came up for sale at Criterion Auctions in west London this week. A small still life from 1959, and a sketch of a nude in an interior. What should have been a routine purchase for certain British dealers (ahem), turned out to be anything but…

Francis Newton Souza, Nude with a Mirror (1962), in the Gallery One exhibition F N SOUZA (Nov-Dec 1962)

Both works came originally from Gallery One, and the drawing was published in the catalogue for their 1962 Souza show - the one with the famous collage image of Souza’s portrait with gnashing teeth…

The oil was a charming painting, fresh to market and with an outrageously low estimate of £200-300. Fakes are rife in this market and often clients are reluctant to take a punt on something in a regional sale, but this was the real deal, with a lovely original label in the back. Complete with red dot…. 

As a consequence, every man and his dog seems to have been bidding on the work which clocked up 90 bids. It ended up selling for £97,500 including premium - a very strong price for what is quite a small, albeit very good little painting. I doubt that the sellers would get more at one of the major auction houses. This was a proper sleeper, and goes to show that quality sells and wherever something is offered, people will find it.

The drawing sold for £7800 including premium. A good price for an end buyer, and something that comes with a great little story.

The works had been stored in a lock-up garage for several years and presumably came from a deceased estate or a picture dealer. Whoever the seller is, they should be very very happy!

Whilst researching this I came across another drawing published in the same 1962 catalogue - a sketch of a pregnant woman sold at Dawsons in the UK. Bizarre that after all this time, two works shown together over 60 years ago both come up for sale 3 days apart…

Charlie Moore, November 2024