Anjolie Ela Menon

One of India’s most famous artists of today. Born in 1940, after academics from Lovedale and Delhi University, she initially went to J J School of Art, Bombay that she subsequently rejected. In 1960, Menon went to Paris to study art at the Atelier Fresque of Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Her early days were heavily influenced - first by the likes of M F Husain and Mohan Samant and then by the works of Amrita Shergil and Modigliani. However, it was Paris where Anjolie Ela Menon really opened up. After absorbing various art styles she developed a style of her own which at that time, did show strong European influences including Russian. In the years that followed, Menon stayed in various places in India, painting extensively and exhibiting. Her style conformed to no particular genre or school and was highly individual which earned her the title “maverick” once.

Working mainly with oils and mixed media and preferring to paint directly rather than draw, her paintings are a reflection of the phases of her life and the world around her. The paintings show a deep ethos, sensitive to human sensibility, nature and beauty. They have differently been classified as autobiographical, subjective, interpretative and impressions.In recent years, Menon has also been experimenting with shapes and forms in Murano glass sculptures, which have a touch of the ethereal and divine.

Having painted, exhibited and won laurels all over the world and being honoured with the Padmashree, Anjolie Ela Menon continues to be one of Indian arts’ greatest ambassadors.