TEHRAN -- Photos of the world’s artists kept at the storehouses of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) are unique, TMCA curator’s advisor Gholam-Ali Taheri said on Saturday.

Portraits of 24 world-famous artists including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Camille Pissarro, Max Ernst, Jean Arp, Valerio Adami, Hans Hartung, Victor Vasarely, and Max Bill have been put on display in an exhibition entitled “A Manifestation of World Contemporary Art” at the TMCA.
A foreign couple had been assigned by the TMCA in 1978 during the reign of Pahlavi to take the photos, Taheri told the Persian service of the Fars News Agency.
He said that the photos were developed and printed in a studio he referred to as Navarro.
The works, most of which are original, had been prepared for an exhibit in Iran that was never held under Pahlavi, he stated.
Also, the works were not put on display after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, due to changes in Iranian policy on artistic events. After the revolution, only art shows with Islamic and revolutionary orientations were allowed to be held, explained Taheri, who is also the secretary of the exhibition.
About 150 paintings and other artwork by world-renowned artists have been showcased in “A Manifestation of World Contemporary Art”, which runs until August 25. 33 items in the exhibit are being shown for the first time.