Anjolie Ela Menon was born in Burnpur, West Bengal in 1940. She studied Literature at New Delhi before studying at the J J School of Art in Bombay which she left midway to study in Europe. She studied on a scholarship at Atelier Fresque, Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Art, Paris from 1959-61.

She was drawn to European art & her works reflect this. The translucent glazes inspired by medieval Christian Art. She first prepares the masonite surface by applying thin layers of paint after which she scrapes it & repaints on top with translucent colours to arrive at a smooth polished surface. These deep jewel tones with a slight texture helps to create the haunting quality of her gloomy, still, longitudinal, dark eyed figures. She has constantly re-envisioned her role as an artist right from the early oils on masonite to her murals, mixed media works & sculptures and resisted being categorized by a certain style. 

Her interests lie in fable & fantasy,allegory & parable,reverie & dream. She calibrates a precise tension between the sacred & the profane.