Francis Newton Souza’s years in London marked a crucial turning point in his artistic journey, shaped not just by the city’s post-war modernist currents but also by his deep and transformative relationship with Liselotte Souza née Kristian (ancestry Kohn).
Liselotte, a Czech-Jewish actress, fled Prague in 1939, with no more than seven shillings in her pocket, leaving behind her widowed mother—whom she would never see again. Finding refuge in London on a domestic permit, she built a career in exile, performing in German-language plays and satirical reviews before learning English from scratch and earning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) where she studied Theatre Stage and Film Acting.
On stage, she took on major roles, from Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest to the lead in Frieda, later appearing in film and television. Her final stage performance came in 1953, after which she lent her voice to the BBC’s European Service until 1956. She made a home in Hampstead, North West London, among tree-lined streets and white stucco houses—a recurring motif in Souza’s paintings of the 1950s and ’60s.
The area was a melting pot of artists, luminaries, and Jewish émigrés from Central Europe—a world that deeply drew Souza in. Call it a clash or union of distant worlds—the light-skinned Jewish refugee and the dark-skinned Indian Catholic met in 1954. And for Souza, it was love at first sight. However, their intellectual compatibility fuelled their relationship; a meeting of minds that introduced Souza to new literary, theatrical, and modernist influences.
In his early work, Souza focused on Goan landscapes, peasants, the Church, and temple dancers, drawing influences from South Indian bronzes, Mathura and Khajuraho sculptures, and Catholicism. Years later, Liselotte became a catalyst for change, expanding his artistic focus to engage with a broader range of influences and cultural worlds. More than a muse, she was a recurring presence in his paintings and writings.
After meeting Liselotte, Souza moved into her Belsize Square home in NW3, where their shared life became an immersion into the avant-garde. Both children of widows carried the weight of loss and exile. Their mutual sense of alienation deepened their bond, reflected in Souza’s growing fascination with Kafka, whose themes of displacement and transformation resonated with Liselotte’s past.
Together, they became part of London’s Bohemian set, frequently hosting poets, artists, and musicians. The renowned photographer Ida Kar was among their circle, capturing their dynamic in images that remain emblematic of the era. Liselotte also hosted her Progressive League meetings at their home, a gathering of post-war radicals.
She had a passion for theater, classical music, and culture, which she shared with my father. We always had classical music playing in the background, and she would dance out of the kitchen, ecstatic about certain musical phrases. It was an education. She was also interested in painting and the German expressionists.
(Keren SouzaKohn)
By the mid-1950s, Souza’s artistic world had already begun expanding beyond his early preoccupations. Immersed in Liselotte’s world, he absorbed the works of Beckmann, Dix, Grosz, and Heartfield, the music of Shostakovich, Mahler, and Bruckner, and the existentialism of Camus, Bettelheim, and Freud. Through her theatrical circles, he encountered the experimentalism of Ionesco, Artaud, Beckett, Miller, and Shaw—all of which left an indelible mark on his evolving visual language. This period of creative expansion coincided with immense critical acclaim.
F.N. Souza, Louis Armstrong, I956, Ink on Paper
Credits: Artist’s Estate
F.N. Souza, Igor Stravinsky, 1956, Ink on Paper
Credits: Artist’s Estate
F.N. Souza, Portrait of John Russell, 1961, Oil on Board
Credits: Artist’s Estate
F.N. Souza, Ezra Pound, 1960, Ink on Paper
Credits: Artist’s Estate
Souza began painting portraits of cultural icons, including jazz legend Louis Armstrong, theatre critic John Russell, and poet Ezra Pound. In 1956, he painted Igor Stravinsky, the revolutionary Russian composer whose daring compositions reshaped modern music. Stravinsky’s collaborations with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes brought him into close association with Pablo Picasso, who designed sets and costumes for some of his productions.
So Igor Stravinsky had a famous collaboration with theatre impresario Serge Diaghilev, writing amazing ballet music for his productions with his Ballet Russes & the fabulous Vaslav Nijinsky & was introduced to Pablo Picasso who painted the sets. They had a long, richly creative friendship… So as Souza loved Picasso, he would have known. And so yes, for sure, Stravinsky’s very radically modern, almost cubist theatrical music would have been appreciated & loved by my parents.
Keren SouzaKohn
Among Stravinsky’s most significant works was his 1927 opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, set to a Latin libretto by Jean Cocteau. Souza’s engagement with classical myth and modernist anxieties surfaced in both his writings and paintings, culminating in his 1961 work, Oedipus Rex.
F.N. Souza, Oedipus Rex, 1961
Credits: Artist’s Estate
In 1961, Souza painted Oedipus Rex, visually exploring themes of fate, guilt, and artistic creation. Given Liselotte’s theatrical background, it is possible that she introduced Souza to Cocteau’s adaptation of Oedipus Rex or that they watched a performance together, reinforcing the influence of classical drama on his work.
By 1955, Souza had his first solo show at Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One in London—a landmark exhibition. The show sold out and won praise from critic John Berger. Following its success, Musgrave signed Souza to an exclusive contract with Gallery One until 1963. That same year, Stephen Spender published Nirvana of a Maggot in Encounter Magazine, solidifying Souza’s reputation as both a painter and a writer.
F.N. Souza, Birth, 1955, Oil on Board
Credits: Artist’s Estate
In 1955, Souza painted The Birth, portraying Liselotte pregnant with their first of three daughters, Keren SouzaKohn. This work, along with the Pregnant Nude was exhibited in Souza’s second solo show at Gallery One. This period also marked a shift in his portrayal of women, we see themes of motherhood emerge.
Liselotte Souza (née Kristian (Kohn)); Karen Souza (Keren SouzaKohn); Francis Newton Souza by Ida Kar
In 1956, the birth of their first child, Keren SouzaKohn, coincided with the opening of Souza’s second solo exhibition at Gallery One. It was a moment of convergence—creation, both artistic and biological, unfolding simultaneously. That year, Harold Kovner, an American patron, discovered Souza’s work at the Iris Clert Gallery, in Paris acquiring over 200 pieces in four years. Souza’s subjects became more expansive—London’s chaotic sprawl, biblical narratives, nude studies, and fragmented figures that seemed to wrestle with existential despair.
By 1957, his third solo show at Gallery One had received extraordinary reviews. For Portrait of an Indian Philosopher, he won a prize in the junior section of the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition. That year also saw the birth of his second daughter.
F.N. Souza, Negro in Mourning, 1957
Credits: Artist’s Estate
His work Negro in Mourning revealed his deepening engagement with themes of social unrest—likely influenced by the volatile racial climate of 1950s Britain. Ida Kar, Victor Musgrave, Liselotte, and Souza moved in overlapping circles, all sharing a sense of dispossession. Musgrave and Souza, in particular, were profoundly affected by the race riots in Britain during this period.
F.N. Souza, Untitled (Portrait), 1958
This possible portrait of Liselotte was created during Souza’s trip to Barcelona, a city he frequently visited. His daughter, Keren SouzaKohn, recalls their holidays in Spain, where Souza found inspiration for several works. In 1958, he painted Head of a Man with Glasses in Barcelona and expressed his deep fondness for the city in a letter to his dealer, Victor Musgrave. His time in Spain also influenced works such as Spanish Landscape (1958), reflecting the Romanesque architecture of its hill towns.
1958 was a year of recognition. Souza was selected to represent Great Britain at the Guggenheim International Award in New York and won the John Moores Prize in Liverpool. His bold distortions were no longer seen as merely provocative; they were recognized as part of a significant modernist movement.
F.N. Souza, Crucifixion, 1959
Displayed at Gallery One, Fourth Show
In 1959, his fourth solo show at Gallery One prompted critic Ian Forbes White to write,
In this exhibition, Souza has entered the ranks of the very small group of truly major painters working in this country.
Works like Emperor, Businessmen, Nude with a Flower in Her Head, and Crucifixion filled the gallery—sleek nudes, nightmarish cityscapes, and male figures with multiple eyes and teeth. The centerpiece The Crucifixion, encapsulated his unflinching engagement with religion, suffering, and redemption.
That year, he also published Words and Lines, a collection of writings and drawings. In the acknowledgments, he thanked his mother Lily, and Liselotte “the L who gave me life—and the other who gives me love.” In Notes from My Diary, he wrote about Liselotte who seemed to keep him grounded:
L-, for instance, when undressed, walks or lies stark white within the ambit of my illusion-filled rooms. And there are doors and a bed, too. Some chairs and tables, books and other furniture, paintings and paint. Knock on wood to know it's true. She, of course, laughs creamily, says she's all there and very practical and matter of fact. "Feel me, darling," she says. Says I'm imagining things (?), that I'm real myself and very practical when I want to be, says it is rather old-fashioned to be called a dreamer, a romantic, and so forth.
Despite his growing success, Souza’s drinking spiraled. One night in 1959, he returned home in a drunken rage and destroyed several of his paintings in front of Liselotte. Alarmed, she introduced him to Tomorrow Will Be Sober, a book she was reading, and urged him to seek help at Dr. Williams’ Clinic. His drinking continued, but by 1960, he became a teetotaller.
F.N. Souza, The Lovers, 1960
Credits: Artist’s Estate
Painted at the height of Francis Newton Souza’s relationship with Liselotte, The Lovers is an uncharacteristically tender departure from his usual portrayals of couples. The male figure likely represents Souza, while the woman, resembling Liselotte, appears in a warm embrace with closed eyes and a hand over his heart.
The brilliant reds, yellows, and gold accents evoke religious vestments, possibly influenced by Souza’s visits to Rome that year. The thick black outlines lend a sculptural quality, recalling Indian mithuna carvings, yet here, the intimacy is gentle rather than erotic, akin to the act of two lovers in a slumber.
By 1960, Souza had given up alcohol, with Liselotte playing a pivotal role in his sobriety. This work may reflect not just love but a newfound clarity—a rare moment of tenderness in Souza’s tumultuous journey.
In 1961, he held his sixth and final solo exhibition at Gallery One. The show drew 6,000 visitors, and Black Nude was acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum. His growing status meant that major collectors and fellow artists were now acquiring his works.
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Untitled (Landscape), 1963, Oil on Board
By the early 1960s, his townscapes—reminiscent of London’s Belsize Park, where he lived with Liselotte for over a decade—grew increasingly chaotic, almost seismic, reflecting anxieties about nuclear war. This was a sharp contrast to his more vibrant and quieter Goan landscapes of the 1940s, which depicted everyday life while still highlighting the struggles of the marginalized in the region.
In 1962, Liselotte and Souza’s third daughter was born. Liselotte discovered a four-story house on the corner of Belsize Square and Belsize Park. They bought it, planning to live on the ground floor and convert the top into Souza’s studio, renting out the middle floors. Liselotte contributed the down payment from full reparations she had received for her mother’s murder in a Nazi concentration camp.
F.N. Souza, Untitled (Nude Study),1962
Credit: Souza, Edwin Mullins, 1962
In the same year, Edwin Mullins’ Souza - a biography of the artist was published, with drawings of Liselotte. Unlike his stark, unflinching nudes, his 1962 portrait is quiet, almost reverent—she stands with her back to the viewer, adjusting her hair, unaware of the gaze that lingers. The delicate linework, the gentle hush of the moment—here, Souza is not just the artist but the silent admirer, the unseen lover, watching without intruding; exuding a certain tenderness not often seen in his works. It also reflects a recurring motif in his art: the mirror, often held by his subjects, evoking themes of self-perception and introspection.
By 1963, Souza had returned to Bombay for his first exhibition in the city in 15 years. That same year, filmmaker Sukhdev made a short documentary about him.
In 1964, Souza held his first solo show, The Human and Divine Predicament, at Grosvenor Gallery. He had gone from exhibiting in the smallest galleries to showing at one of London’s most prestigious venues.
Souza’s relationship with Liselotte ended in 1964, yet she had etched herself into his oeuvre—not merely as a presence, but as an enduring influence. Her mark was not confined to appearances; it ran deeper, embedded in the very structure of his compositions, in the fluid metamorphoses of his figures, and in the intellectual and emotional currents that coursed through his canvases. Even as their paths diverged, Souza continued to write to her. On Liselotte’s birthday in 1980, he wrote to her:
It would be stupid to say I thank Hitler, but that is the case, because of him I found you! The proof that you hit it off with me more than any other man lies in my children you bore, and the same goes for me. I wish to thank you for raising my daughters... for a decade or so you gave me great joy Liselotte.
(F.N. Souza, Letter to Liselotte, Art Catalogue, 2015)
