K. Ramanujam was born in 1941 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.

The uniqueness of K. Ramanujam’s art could be explained by creating links between his handicaps, his sexual frustrations, his love to be a respected gentleman, the fantasy and magic of Tamil cinema, especially Vasan’s Chandralekha, the artistic influences of Paniker & Cholamandal, and the like, but at the end of the day, his artistic creative genius should be best seen as that great force, that virtually impregnable self-discipline which keeps sanity ticking away. That which gives our will for life motivation, at least enough until, the spectre of suicide hovers like the darkest phantom, and suddenly all the joy and awareness for life seems insufficient to tackle this sensation of loneliness and pain, pain that a spirit which has failed to find love and companionship, simple expectations from a world full of six billions of people, cannot bear to endure anymore. Art failed Ramanujam in this final test of answering his reason to live.
“The awareness of a world other than the one he creates in his pictures is a sign of maturity in an artist. He begins to be cautious of his own spontaneity and seeks to verify his intuition. It is the total absence of this element that makes Ramanujam’s work distinct. He paints as if his world and the image he has of himself in it are the only things he knows or the only things he can ever know. He portrays this with great fidelity and high competence... At a time when artists in the country attempt to make their creations real to themselves and convincing to others in terms of the two ‘worlds’ that of Modernity and Tradition, there is a danger of losing incidentally a quality of innocent intimacy with oneself which makes for one his personal legend. Ramanujam’s work is rich in this quality.”

His [Ramanujam’s] burdened imagination was full of dreams and fantasies, strange imagery and visions. For him, the activities of painting and drawing became truly vehicles of outlet for the externalization of private fantasy. An enchanting and disquieting world he portrayed on his canvases whether they were elaborate drawings or brightly coloured paintings. His universe has the three tiers of the ‘brahmand’ – the heaven, the sky and the earth – in which winged and draped creatures float from one to another, being carried in boats or dangling over swings, roof-tops or in mid-air.

In 2000, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1968), offered in the Contemporary Indian Paintings: From the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection by Sotheby's, which concluded on 05 December 2000 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹1,96,560 ($4,200). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 2006, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Fantasy Series (1968), offered in the Masterpieces & Museum Quality Series VI: With Rare Drawings and Books on Indian Contemporary Art by Osian's, which concluded on 01 March 2006 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹4,02,500 ($9,076). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 2026, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (Procession) (1968), offered in the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art by Christie's, which concluded on 25 March 2026 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹10,14,26,257.6 ($1,079,500). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 1999, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1969), offered in the Modern and Contemporary Indian Paintings by Bonhams, which concluded on 16 June 1999 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹1,26,478 ($2,928). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 1997, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1970), offered in the The Intuitive-Logic II: Modern & Contemporary Indian Paintings, Drawings, Graphics, Sculpture & Tapestry by HEART, which concluded on 15 November 1997 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹75,000 ($2,041). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 2007, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Fantasy Series (1970), offered in the ABC Series III: Art, Book & Cinema by Osian's, which concluded on 29 March 2007 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹18,60,000 ($42,788). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 2007, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1972), offered in the Masterpieces and Museum Quality Series VIII by Osian's, which concluded on 31 January 2007 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹9,60,000 ($21,734). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Not to be able to do more than one thing well can sometimes be an advantage in creative work. It can invest it with an edge, intensity and dimension. A painter with this awesomely constricted mental spectrum tends to be a lonely soul, for the world has a trick of being brusque and impatient with him, driving him into his own inner self seeking refuge. Ramanujam was cruelly handicapped in many ways. It astounds one to think how he bore his cross for 33 years. Like Maugham’s Strickland, he clutched his solitary gift of painting like a drowning man a straw. His work already seems to assume a new dimension after his death, for it is pointed in message and guileless.

Not to be able to do more than one thing well can sometimes be an advantage in creative work. It can invest it with an edge, intensity and dimension. A painter with this awesomely constricted mental spectrum tends to be a lonely soul, for the world has a trick of being brusque and impatient with him, driving him into his own inner self seeking refuge. Ramanujam was cruelly handicapped in many ways. It astounds one to think how he bore his cross for 33 years. Like Maugham’s Strickland, he clutched his solitary gift of painting like a drowning man a straw. His work already seems to assume a new dimension after his death, for it is pointed in message and guileless.

In 1995, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of My Dream World I (1976), offered in the Contemporary Indian Paintings: From The Chester and Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust by Sotheby's, which concluded on 12 June 1995 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹32,504 ($1,035). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

In 2012, an artwork by K. Ramanujam was featured on the cover of Osians: Creative India Series 4 (June 2012, New York), marking a documented highlight in the artist's public and auction market visibility.