on to found the influential progressive artists group whose landmark show in the 50s shaped the body and soul of modern indian art his first major discovery m f husain whose paintings sold for exponentially more than souzas during the latters lifetime has always recognised his mentors role i came into the art world because of him husain said when he heard of souzas death he is the most significant indian painter an intellectual an artist whom india should be proud of but souza stayed on the margins of indian art even as he achieved success in london in the 60s after his sellout solo show in 1955 the eminent art critic john berger wrote how much souzas pictures derive from western art and how much from the hieratic temple traditions of his country i cannot say analysis breaks down and intuition takes over it is obvious that he is a superb designer and an excellent draughtsman but i find it quite impossible to assess his work comparatively because he straddles several traditions but serves none high praise but it wasnt coming from home an embittered souza as adept with the pen as he was with the brush wrote in words and lines better had i died after a childhood bout with smallpox i would not have had to bear an artists tormented soul create art in a country that despises her artists and is ignorant of her heritage his dream of a museum of his work in goa may still be unrealised but theres almost no doubt about his central place in the history of modern indian art indian collectors may have found it difficult to relate to his grotesque heads distorted figures and belligerent lines till 15 years ago but that has changed says ashish anand director of delhi art gallery who has over a hundred nudes in his collection and a generous sprinkling of them in his home one of my favourites is a 1962 nude of a masturbating woman but even my young nieces are comfortable with itvolteface souzas iconoclastic vision is on at the lalit kala akademi till april 18follow us on twitter for more stories