Ila Pal

Born in 1939 in Bombay, Ila Pal was a largely self-taught artist. She acquired a Masters in Clinical and Education Psychology in Bombay before briefly studying at the city's Sir J. J. School of Art. Her decision to pursue an artistic career was, in part, influenced by her close friendship with the celebrated Progressive artist Maqbool Fida Husain. In 1994, Pal published a book on her friend, titled Beyond the Canvas: An Unfinished Portrait of M.F. Husain. Known for her monochromatic studies of the natural world, Pal has exhibited widely, including in a group show with Nasreen Mohamedi, Laxman Shrestha and Vinodrai Patel at the Kunika Art Centre in New Delhi in 1964.

'Looking at Ila Pal's ink drawings, etchings and recent paintings, what is at once transparent is a certain emotional honesty about her work. The change in Ila's style began with the realization that physical reality is not all... How many artists, who have painted the landscape in show after show, have yet to realize this!'

(J. S. Rao, The Free Press Bulletin, Bombay, 17 August 1973)