Souza's photographs by Ida Kar

To coincide with a retrospective of Ida Kar’s photographs at London’s National Portrait Gallery, Grosvenor Vadehra presents Portraits of F.N. Souza (1957 – 61) taken by her and never exhibited or published before.

The exhibition opened in London earlier this year followed by Delhi (The British Council), Mumbai (Pundole Art Gallery) and Goa (Goa Centre for the arts), this month. A talk with experts and acquaintances of the artist take place alongside the show at each venue. The renowned Armenian photographer, Ida Kar (1908-1974), established her photographic studio in Cairo after spending some time in Paris where she married Victor Musgrave. He opened Gallery One in London (1944) where she started working as a theatrical photographer.

Ida Kar was most famous for the photos she took of writers and artists. Many of them became defining portraits and in effect, vital social documents of post-war Britain cultural life. She had had her first solo in London at Gallery One in 1954. Her photos included those of artists like Tsugouharu Foujita, Stanley Spencer, Alberto Giacometti, Le Corbusier and Man Ray. She was the first photographer to have a major retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery (Ida Kar: Portraits of Artists & Writers in Great Britain, France & the Soviet Union).

F.N. Souza was associated with Gallery One as he had his solo there in 1956. The founder member of the Progressive Artists Group in India, he remains one of our most important and internationally recognized artists. Ida Kar took several images of him. Many of them are now being exhibited. These photographs taken during 1957-61 document a crucial phase in the careers of the two artists. They show Souza in his studio and elsewhere.

The exhibit series and the allied events shed light on this period of his life and the fruitful relationship between Souza and Kar whilst the two creative personalities were immersed in flourishing art scene of London.