Iran Modern | Assouline

During her reign as the first queen in Iranian history, Empress Farah Pahlavi dedicated her life to serving the Iranian people, creating, and curating museums and festivals across the country. With a keen eye—and working with Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and the Met—the empress was able to amass one of the world’s greatest collections of modern art for her country, including works by van Gogh, Picasso, Bacon, and de Kooning. She empowered a generation of young Iranian artists, visited the studios of artists like Henry Moore and Chagall, and commissioned works directly from a young Andy Warhol, who paid visit to the Royal Palace, in the name of establishing her country as a cultural vanguard. Then, in 1979, the unimaginable happened, and the Iran that emerged after the Revolution changed everything. Iran Modern: The Empress of Art uncovers the lost story of Farah Pahlavi’s amazing journey from Empress to exile and illuminates the near-forgotten collection of contemporary art she left behind. Complimentary white gloves and signature canvas tote bag are included with each purchase from Assouline’s Ultimate Collection Viola Raikhel-Bolot is co-founder of Vanishing Pictures Productions, and Managing Director and co-founder of 1858 Ltd Art Advisory, an international firm that works with some of the biggest names in modern art and collecting. Advising private banks, family offices, fashion and luxury brands and museums. She maintains advisory positions across the arts and is regularly called upon in the international press as a contributor to the Financial Times, CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg television news as an expert on the international art market. Miranda Darling is a writer, and co-founder of Vanishing Pictures Productions. She has published two thrillers and a novel, and worked on several documentaries as a writer and consultant. Before reading English and Modern Languages at Oxford, Miranda travelled the world as a fashion model, and worked for PAPER magazine in N