- Anjolie Ela Menon
Infobox Celebrity
image_size = 150px
name = Anjolie Ela Menon
birth_date = 1940
birth_place =West Bengal ,India
occupation = painterAnjolie Ela Menon (born 1940) is one of
India 's leading contemporary femaleartist s. Her paintings are in several major collections. Most recently (2006), a major work "Yatra" was acquired by theAsian Art Museum of San Francisco , California. Her preferred medium is oil onmasonite , though she has also worked in other media, including glass ( [http://www.the-south-asian.com/April%202003/Anjolie-Glass%20art-1.htm pictures of glass sculptures] ) and water colour. She is a well knownmuralist . She was awarded thePadma Shree in 2000. She lives and works inNew Delhi .Early life
Anjolie Ela was born in
West Bengal of a mixed Bengal and American parentageFact|date=April 2008. She went toLawrence School , Lovedale (nearOotacamund ), in theNilgiri Hills ,Tamil Nadu . By the age of 15, when she left school, she had already sold a few paintings. Thereafter, she briefly studied at theSir J.J. Institute of Applied Art ,Mumbai and later earned a degree in English Literature fromDelhi University , where she studied at the famous women's college,Miranda House . During this time, she was drawn to the works ofModigliani , and Indian painters,M F Husain andAmrita Shergil . At 18, she held a solo exhibition with fifty-three paintings of a variety of styles. Her creative brilliance got her aFrench Government scholarship to study at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts inParis . Before returning home, she travelled extensively inEurope andWest Asia studying Romanesque andByzantine art .Later life
After returning, she married her childhood love, Raja Menon, a
Indian Navy officer, who later retired as anAdmiral . Since marriage she has lived and worked inIndia , theU.S.A. , several countries inEurope ,Japan and the erstwhileUSSR , and had over thirty solo shows in these countries. She is also a well knownmuralist and has represented India at several shows.Influences on Anjolie Ela Menon
* The
Lawrence School , Lovedale (nearOotacamund ),Tamil Nadu .
* Well known painterVincent Van Gogh .
*Expressionism school of art.
* Italian painter and sculptor Modigliani.
* Indian female painterAmrita Shergil .
* Renowned Indian painterM F Husain .Awards
* The
Padma Shree , one of the highest civilian awards inIndia .References
* [http://www.indus-intl.com/bookdetails.cfm?bookid=IN-06648 Anjolie Ela Menon: Paintings in Private Collections]
Further reading
"India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women" (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta
External links
* [http://www.indianartcircle.com/anjolieelamenon/aem_ind1.shtml Anjolie Ela Menon's home page]
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