Iran’s extensive collection of Western art, much of it long hidden, is resurfacing despite high tensions with the United States

TEHRAN, Iran | As Iran faces rising tensions with the West and unrest at home, a new exhibition at Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art showcases Western artworks, including pieces the public has not seen in at least a decade.

The opening of the “Eye to Eye” exhibition attracted scores of women with uncovered hair to the museum’s underground galleries in Tehran’s Laleh Park. Although their presence is not acknowledged by authorities, it shows how life in Iran has changed in recent years, even as the country’s theocracy pushes the enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels and attacks on it during the ongoing wars in the Middle East Israel starts.

“The first feeling that came over me and that I told my parents was that I can’t believe that I am seeing these works that have always been kept away from our eyes,” said Aida Zarrin, a young woman at the museum.

“If events like this take place here and we can see works of art like the rest of the world, that’s enough. They’re really valuable.”

The government of the Western-backed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, former Empress Farah Pahlavi, built the museum and acquired the extensive collection in the late 1970s, when oil was booming and Western economies were stagnating. The opening featured sensational works by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock and other heavyweights, strengthening Iran’s cultural standing on the world stage.

But just two years later, in 1979, Shiite clerics overthrew the Shah and stashed the works of art in the museum’s vault. Some paintings – Cubist, Surrealist, Impressionist and even Pop Art – remained untouched for decades so as not to offend Islamic values ​​and appear to be pandering to Western sensibilities. Almost everything is believed to still be there, although a print of the Empress by Andy Warhol was cut up during the Revolution.

Today the collection is likely worth billions of dollars. Even though Iran is now cash-strapped due to Western sanctions, museum staff have been able to work to preserve the collection, although there have been occasional barter transactions involving items from Persian history in the past. These sanctions could be tightened under the next administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

As Iranian politics has thawed, refrozen, and thawed again, the collection is re-emerging along with these changes.

The over 120 works on display include works by Picasso, Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon, as well as famous Iranian artists. One of the Warhols, “Jacqueline Kennedy II,” is a screen-printed double portrait of the former U.S. first lady in mourning after the assassination of her husband, President John Kennedy, in 1963. Another Warhol portrait is of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger also caught the attention of cell phone photographers.

“Many of these works are important works of art history, and that is why this exhibition is different from others,” said Jamal Arabzadeh, the exhibition’s curator. “Many people with less experience in art discovered the museum for the first time. … We see a portion of the community discovering art and the museum and recognizing the potential of this place, and we can be proud of that.”

The presence of Western art comes as the Iranian government has long fought against items such as Barbie dolls and depictions of cartoon characters from “The Simpsons.” Such Western influences have historically been considered un-Islamic and seen as part of a “soft” culture war against the Islamic Republic.

With a ticket price equivalent to 14 US cents, the exhibition is a rare government-sanctioned event that does not touch on the country’s politics or Shiite religion.

Among the visitors were many women who defied the country’s mandatory headscarf or hijab law. Following Iran’s presidential election in July, which elected reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, the crackdown on the hijab has slowed, although isolated cases of arrests continue to raise eyebrows.

And for many, foreign museums are out of reach due to the high cost of traveling abroad amid the collapsing rial currency.

“This is very attractive for art enthusiasts because not everyone can visit museums abroad. It is extremely exciting to see the works here,” said a woman who gave only her last name, Dolatshahi. “I had no idea I could see works by van Gogh and Picasso here.”

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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