Francis Newton Souza was born in 1924 in Saligao, Goa. After losing his father at a very young age and being afflicted by a serious bout of small pox, he vowed to go about life his own way. He was expelled from the Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay and later, as he insisted on saying, from his own country. He would shift continents before settling in New York for the Goa born artist , who was bought up by his Catholic mother to become a priest, showed early signs of rebelliousness, that was to become an integral part of his life. His rebellious nature made him join the Communist Party which he soon rejected. He was also the founder member and spokesperson of the Progressive Artists’ Group which he later abandoned in order to pursue a painterly career in Europe.