Francis Newton Souza was born in 1924 in Saligao, Goa. He was expelled for participating in the Quit India Movement while studying at the Sir J J School of Art in Mumbai. In 1947, he founded the Progressive Artists' Group along with S H Raza, M F Husain and K H Ara, among others. Souza's style created thought-provoking and powerful images.

Francis Newton Souza's oeuvre was immense - however, the current fixation appears to be over his 1955 era heads (portraits) and his landscapes. Nudes which are an important part of his oeuvre are mostly under-valued and not given their due.