Page 7 - The Arts Trust Souza The Centennial
P. 7
100 Years of
Francis Newton
the birth of a rebel the Institute of Needle Craft and Domestic
Renowned for his bold and provocative art, Science, gradually stabilising their situation
the iconic artist Francis Newton Souza was and providing Newton with the opportunity
born Francisco Victor Newton de Souza for a better life and education.
on April 12, 1924, in Saligao, Goa. This year Lilia’s devout Catholic faith played a
marks his centenary. significant role in shaping her aspirations
Souza’s early life was fraught with for her son. Praying fervently to Goa’s
tragedy and hardship. His father, José Victor patron saint, St. Francis Xavier, she vowed
Aniceto de Souza, who was also a teacher, to dedicate Newton to the priesthood if he
tragically passed away when Souza was only was spared from the clutches of smallpox.
three months old. His older sister also died Miraculously, Newton recovered, and Lilia
a year later. Navigating the challenges of laid the foundation for what she hoped
single motherhood, his mother, Lilia Maria would be a devout path by enrolling him
Cecilia Antunes, made a bold decision in St. Francis Xavier’s High School, run by
to seek a better life in Bombay. However, Jesuit priests.
misfortune continued to shadow the family However, Newton’s spirit was
as young Newton contracted smallpox, a irrepressible. Disillusioned by the rigidity
perilous disease that forced him to return and hypocrisy he perceived within the
An enigmatic Souza, to Goa for recovery under the care of his education system, Souza manifested
captured by famed grandmother. Despite the setbacks, Lilia’s his defiance with acts of truancy and
photographer Ida Kar resilience shone through. She leveraged subversion. After two years at the school,
in 1961 her skill in needlework and she established he was expelled for drawing pornographic
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