Untitled (Head)
oil on magazine paper laid down on board, framed
Signed and dated 'Souza '62'
32 x 23.9cm.

Provenance: Collection of Robert Skelton, O.B.E. (1929-2022)

A comparable oil of a head, of similar dimension and also dated 1962, was sold Bonhams, 9th December 2025, lot 1.

Robert would have been immersed in the world of Indian art in London just as Souza and some of his contemporaries were establishing their lasting reputations with the support of Victor Musgrave and the celebrated Gallery One. This painting was bought by Robert from Souza's first wife, Maria Figueiredo. She had married Souza in 1945 and, through taking on numerous jobs, supported him financially during his early career as an artist as he struggled to become recognised. The couple remained married until 1964, despite the fact that through most of the 1950s he had an intimate affair with Liselotte Kristian Kohn which ended in 1961. Robert, a friend of both Souza and his wife, purchased the painting from Maria shortly after the divorce for what he described as 'not very much'.