It has been dubbed one of the world’s rarest treasure troves of art but few people outside its host country know about it.
For decades, masterpieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock have been kept in the basement of a museum in Iran’s capital Tehran, shrouded in mystery.
According to estimates in 2018, the collection is worth as much as $3bn.
Only a small portion of the work has been exhibited since the 1979 Iranian Revolution but in recent years, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art has been showcasing some of its most captivating pieces.
The Eye to Eye exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in October 2024, was extended twice due to overwhelming public demand, running until January 2025.
The display was widely regarded as one of the most significant exhibitions in the history of the museum, and it also became its most visited.
The showcase featured more than 15 works unveiled for the first time, including a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet – marking its first-ever appearance in an Iranian exhibition.
From abstract expressionism to pop art, the collection at the museum serves as a time capsule of pivotal artistic movements.
Among the artwork is Warhol’s portrait of Farah Pahlavi – Iran’s last queen – a rare piece blending his pop art flair with Iranian cultural history.
Elsewhere, Francis Bacon’s work called Two Figures Lying on a Bed with Attendants shows figures appearing to spy on two naked men lying on a bed.
On the opposite wall in the basement of the museum, a portrait of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is on display in juxtaposition.
The museum was built in 1977 under the patronage of Pahlavi, the exiled widow of the last Shah of Iran who was overthrown during the revolution.
Pahlavi was a passionate art advocate and her cousin, architect Kamran Diba, designed the museum.
It was established to introduce modern art to Iranians and to bridge Iran closer to the international art scene.