Anjolie Ela Menon

Born in 1940 in Burnpur (West Bengal), Anjolie Ela Menon is a foremost contemporary artist who completed her schooling at Lovedale, after which she pursued a degree in English Literature from Delhi University. Later, following a brief spell at Sir J.J. School of Art, she received formal training in painting at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, on a French Government scholarship from 1959-61. She pursued further studies in France, the U.K., and the USA at the invitation of respective Governments during 1980-81.
Anjolie is a well-known muralist. Often described as magical, enigmatic, and mysterious, Anjolie Ela Menon paintings evoke an element of empathy in the viewer. She has had over 35 solo shows in India and abroad and has participated in several group shows along with I, II, and III International Triennale by Lalit Kala Akademi in 1968, 1972 & 1975; Paris Biennale, France in1980; at New York & Washington D.C. in 1980.
She is a recipient of Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours, by the Government of India in 2000, and she is on the board of trustees of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Her work was shown in a major retrospective held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, in 2002, which also toured other towns, including Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore. Her life and work have been featured in significant publications and films for Doordarshan and CNN.
She lives and works in New Delhi.