Iran Unveils Western Art Largely Unseen Since 1979

An exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art features works by some of the great names in modern art. The works were acquired by Farah Diba Pahlavi, whose husband was deposed as Iran’s leader in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Works by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock serve as context for a collection by Farideh Lashai, an Iranian artist who died in 2013, explains Kia Makarechi for Vanity Fair. “Iran purchased the works at a time when the global art market was depressed and Iran’s coffers were full of oil revenue,” he writes. “It is difficult to consider the exhibition and not think of the broader warming of relations between Iran and the West. Buoyed by the Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian regime is tilting toward rapprochement with Europe and the United States, which is, in return, beginning the process of lifting debilitating sanctions.” Curators note that such cultural exchanges often lead the way for rapprochement. – YaleGlobal