A student of such artists as K. C. S. Paniker, D. P. Roy Choudhury and Jean Bertholle, Narayanan's paintings are on display at various museums and galleries in many countries such as India, France, Japan, Poland and Germany.

Akkitham Narayanan was born in 1939[1] at Amettikkara, near Kumaranallur in Palakkad district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Akkithathu Manayil Vasudevan Namboothiri and Checkur Manaykkal Parvathy Antharjanam.

[4] His days at the Government College of Fine Arts gave him the opportunity to come in contact with D. P. Roy Choudhury, the then principal and K. C. S. Paniker,[5] who was the vice principal of the institution, and Narayanan was also involved with Paniker's efforts to found Cholamandal Artists' Village in 1966.

[7][8] Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, noted Malayalam poet, is Narayanan's elder brother.

[9] Narayanan received the state award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, in 1963 and twice more in 1965 and in 1966.