Painter Anjolie Ela Menon

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Anjolie Ela Menon Biography

Anjolie Ela Menon is among India's lending contemporary female artists, who have created a name for themselves in the domestic as well as international art scenario. Her works are a part of significant painting collections across the globe. One of her art works, 'Yatra' was recently picked up by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco at California in the year 2006. Anjolie Ela Menon normally prefers to work with the oil on masonite medium, though she has also worked with other mediums like glass and water color.

Read on to get more information about the biography of Anjolie Ela Menon. She was born in the year 1940 in the Indian state of West Bengal of a mixed Bengal and American parentage. She was a student of Lawrence School, Lovedale situated in the lovely hills of Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu. Anjolie Ela Menon was so adept at painting that by the time she left school at the age of 15, she had already sold away few of her works.

After this, she pursued her studies at the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai and then went on to obtain a degree in English Literature from Delhi University. During this phase, she developed a deep appreciation for the works of artists like Italian artist, Modigliani and Indian painters like Amrita Shergil and MF Hussain. It was at the tender age of 18 that Anjolie Ela Menon showcased her solo works. There were in total 53 paintings included in this exhibition.

The life history of Anjolie Ela Menon's career soared smoothly upwards in the time to come. Impressed by her creative adeptness, the French government offered her a scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. And Menon fully utilized this time to travel incisively in Europe and West Asia studying Romanesque and Byzantine art before returning back home to India. She later wedded her childhood love, Raja Menon, who was an officer in the Indian navy.

After her marriage to Raja Menon, Anjolie Ela Menon has stayed and worked on in India, US as well as other countries in Europe and Japan. She is credited to have had over 30 solo shows in all these countries. She is also a well-known muralist and been honored with the Padma Shree, one of the highest civilian awards in India. Based on her life and work, a book "ANJOLIE ELA MENON: Paintings in Private Collections" was recently published.