Background
Anjolie Ela Menon was born on July 17, 1940, in Burnpur, Bengal India of mixed Bengali and American parentage.
Anjolie Ela Menon was born on July 17, 1940, in Burnpur, Bengal India of mixed Bengali and American parentage.
Thereafter, she briefly studied at the Sir Josip Juraj Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai and later earned a degree in English Literature from Delhi University, where she studied at the famous women"s college, Miranda House.
Her paintings are in several major collections. Most recently (2006), a major work "Yatra" was acquired by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California. Her preferred medium is oil on masonite, though she has also worked in other media, including glass and water colour.
She is a well known muralist.
She was awarded the Padma Shree in 2000. She lives and works in New Delhi.
She went to Lawrence School, Lovedale in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu. By the age of 15, when she left school, she had already sold a few paintings.
During this time, she was drawn to the works of Modigliani, and Indian painters, M F Husain and Amrita Shergil.
At 18, she held a solo exhibition with fifty-three paintings of a variety of styles. Her creative brilliance got her a French Government scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1959 to 1961. Before returning home, she traveled extensively in Europe and West Asia studying Romanesque and Byzantine art
Anjolie married her childhood love, Raja Menon, an Indian Navy officer, who later retired as an Admiral.
Since marriage she has lived and worked in India, the United States., several countries in Europe, Japan and the erstwhile Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, and had over thirty five solo shows in these countries. She is also a well known muralist and has represented India at several shows.
