Francis Newton Souza painted this Portrait of John Christoforou in 1959 while the artist was living in London enjoying an unprecedented level of critical acclaim in his career. In the second half of the 1950s, Souza was finally enjoying prestigious gallery representation through Gallery One in the heart of bohemian Soho. The final two years of the 1950s were especially significant for Souza and it was during these years that he painted some of his most lauded works. In 1959 Souza completed his iconic Crucifixion, a masterpiece which the Tate holds in its permanent collection, and was displayed in Tate Britain’s All Too Human exhibition on the London School painters in 2018. This was also the year Souza’s book Words and Lines was published with Villiers.

The late John Christoforou was a Greek artist who, unlike Souza, was born in London. Following a stint in the Royal Air Force, after the Second World War, Christoforou resigned his post to pursue his ambition of a career as an artist. Souza met the erudite and articulate Christoforou at Gallery One where he was also exhibiting. The two artists hit it off as part of the bohemian intelligencia of post-war London. While Souza was very much at the zenith of his career, Christoforou, depicted here with his recognizable moustache and chiselled cheek bones and nose, was on the brink of enjoying his greatest period of success which began in the early 1960s. Christoforou went on to win the prestigious International Association of Art Critics prize in London in 1965, and exhibited internationally across Europe over the following decades. This portrait is a testament to the esteem and friendship that Souza held for Christoforou during the period when Souza was at his most prodigious.