SHEILA AZARI WITH MT DAMAVAND IN BACKGROUND, IRAN 1960

“SHEILA WAS A FEARLESS ADVENTURER AND ENDLESSLY CURIOUS. SHE HAD A REAL PASSION FOR INVESTIGATING THE CULTURE. WE TOOK A LOT OF ROAD TRIPS.

ERIC AZARI

With the promise of discovery, and as many would do after having moved to a new country, not least one with as much rich cultural history, Sheila, with her love for art history, became heavily steeped in the discovery of Iran’s heritage and past. Her delight and enthusiasm was contagious and she soon found a willing partner in Eric.

“SHEILA WAS A FEARLESS ADVENTURER AND ENDLESSLY CURIOUS. SHE HAD A REAL PASSION FOR INVESTIGATING THE CULTURE. WE TOOK A LOT OF ROAD TRIPS. WITH HER PALE SKIN AND RED HAIR SHE LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS FROM ANOTHER PLANET. SHE’D GET OUT OF THE CAR AND EVERYONE ON THE STREET WOULD COME TO A STOP AND STARE. SHE WAS AN EMANCIPATED WOMAN. SHE DIDN’T SUFFER FOOLS AND NO ONE TOLD HER WHAT SHE COULD AND COULDN’T DO. IT GAVE HER A UNIQUE ABILITY TO GO PLACES AND EXPERIENCE THINGS FEW PEOPLE, EVEN NATIVE IRANIANS HAD ACCESS TO, AND SHE DRANK IT UP.”

ERIC AZARI

Sheila wanted to discover artists who provided continuity with Iran’s past: ones who combined Persian mythical themes with pre-Islamic religions and the symbolism of Zoroastrian times, and the Islamic motifs that evolved later. Credited with the establishment of a modernist approach to a national artistic identity, the 'neo-traditional' Saqqakhaneh movement was formed at this time, in the early 1960s. It was more generally identified with artists whose work was rooted in traditionally Iranian, decorative pre-Islamic and Islamic elements, and folk art. The question of Iranian identity and how to express it in visual arts was one of the central concerns among the Iranian artists of this period, who through a variety of subjects and themes, tried to represent their national identity in their artworks.

“At that time in Tehran there was no representation of Iranian art or culture. Persians didn’t know their own art history and the Americans and the other Expatriates were hungering for IT”

ERIC AZARI

SHEILA’S SALON

“OUR COMMITMENT WAS TO ARTISTS, TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE SEEN, HEARD AND APPRECIATED. BEING AN ARTIST IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT, IN IRAN AT THAT TIME IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. THEY WERN’T RESPECTED IN THE CULTURE AND HOME LIFE COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT. MOST WERE NOT WELCOME, MANY WERE OUTCASTS.”

ERIC AZARI

“Before Sheila set up her salon, contemporary, pathfinder artists did not have a venue in Tehran.”

At the time, the only Western style gallery in Tehran was Esthetique, founded by well-known artist Marcos Grigorian (whose style was too western for Sheila’s taste). There were only two artists’ works on display, one of whom was Fereydoun Rahimi-Assa. Formatively, it was after this visit that their journey as collector-patrons began.

“Before Sheila set up her salon, contemporary, pathfinder artists did not have a venue in Tehran. The tradition she established whereby the artists could bring their work, often unframed and simply tacked to the wall, and present it to a diverse audience would be picked up by others after our departure because it worked. People in New York and London would later coin the phrase “a happening” or “living art” to describe what took place at our house in Tehran in the early 1960s, and Sheila pulled it off very skillfully. There were entire walls covered in art. The foreign guests were agog about what they saw all around them, but the Iranians, amazingly, were somewhat oblivious to it - they preferred to talk, eat and drink! So Sheila would take them aside and explain …

“General, have you seen this Tabrizi? It depicts a general like you”

“Really? Where? I don’t see him...”

"Right there...” Sheila would say, pointing it out to him."

“Oh! I see it now. Maybe I should get that one. Do you recommend that I get that one?”

“Well, he’s a native of your province, a brother so to speak,” Sheila would reply. And then the general would summon his attaché with a snap his fingers and order him to “take that one down. It is mine!”

And that was the way it went. The guests loved it. The artists loved it. There was nobody in Teheran that did anything on this scale for Iranian artists until Tanavoli opened the Rasht 19Club the year after we left for the United States.”

ERIC AZARI

ABBAS HOVEYDA, FORMER IRANIAN PRIME MINISTER, AZARI RESIDENCE 1962

SADEGH TABRIZI, UNTITLED (CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE).

The more they engaged in art, the more they developed their passion for collecting, alongside a real commitment to the contemporary art and artists in Iran. Eric Azari recalls, the almost romantic memories of late nights at Sheila’s salon, long after distinguished guests had left, of artists discussing religion and expression, of Tabrizi and Pilaram debating their different depictions of their shared spiritual beliefs and Sheila’s steady mediation and insight into a broader set of religious values. His stories are reminiscent of scenes of Gertrude Stein’s salon in Paris as described in Ernest Hemingway’s, A Moveable Feast, where leading figures of Modernism in literature and art would meet to share ideas and talk freely. One can almost imagine Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemmingway, Henri Matisse, F. Scott Fitzgerald there with Sheila, in conversation with their Iranian counterparts.

“WE INVITED LUMINARIES AND BEATNIKS, POETS AND POLITICIANS, the idea was that they would all rub shoulders, START A DIALOGUE.”

ERIC AZARI

PRINCESS LEILA PAHLAVI, AZARI RESIDENCE, TEHRAN 1963

POSING IN FRONT OF WORKS FROM TOP RIGHT: HASSAN GAHEMI, NASSER OVISSI, HASSAN GAHEMI, PARVIZ TANAVOLI SCULPTURE, PARVIZ TANAVOLI, HASSAN GAHEMI

“…in a real sense, this open discussion of modern viewpoints in a safe environment was the essence of the salon – the shows and parties were the pretext to bring everyone together”

ERIC AZARI

SHEILA AND UNIDENTIFIED GUESTS, GAHEMI HAPPENING PARTY, AZARI RESIDENCE, TEHRAN 1963

ERICA AZARI AND UNIDENTIFIED FRIENDS, TEHRAN, 1960 AND 1964 RESPECTIVELY

POSING IN FRONT OF FARAMARZ PILARAM COMPOSITIONS, SWORD OF ALI, CURRENTLY IN THE

PERMANENT COLLECTION NYC MET 2020

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/817385

“We were fascinated by the link between Iran’s archaeological themes and the emerging modern art movement that incorporated Islamic religious art. Sheila believed the artists were only subconsciously aware that they were painting motifs from Iran’s legendary times before the advent of Islam in the 7th century AD. After all, they had never seen the artefacts the archaeologists were uncovering.”

ERIC AZARI

NY METROPOLITIAN MUSEUM

Spiritual Pop: Art in 1960s Iran

The installation at The Met Spiritual Pop: Art in 1960s Iran celebrates a gift of seven rare paintings by the artists Faramarz Pilaram (1937–1982) and Massoud Arabshahi (1935–2019) from the heirs of Eric and Sheila Azari in honor of The Met’s recent 150th anniversary

https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2021/azari

Untitled1962–64

Massoud Arabshahi Iranian

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/817408

In this period, Arabshahi was interested in combining elements of Iran’s ancient, pre-Islamic arts with the technological advances being pushed through under the banner of nation-building. Rather than focus on a specific era or civilization, the artist drew loosely from Babylonian, Achaemenid and Assyrian sources. His works are often divided into rows in the style of ancient frieze reliefs. Cuneiform markings are evoked by the pseudo-script that is just visible behind the figures. Ancient motifs such as the rosette—a circle with spokes—or the disk symbolising the solar deity Shamash appear frequently in Arabshahi’s paintings. Moreover, the artist’s use of prints, multiple paint layers, loose brushstrokes, and the selective application of metallic paints combine to lend the work the surface texture and air of an artifact.

Sheila’s salon fostered a new appreciation for Iranian contemporary art. Before this, contemporary pathfinder artists did not have any venue similar in Tehran. It was all new, raw contemporary Iranian art and Sheila had her walls covered with it. She would make clear to their guests that they could support the artistic community by buying their paintings – and in doing so, they inadvertently created the market for these works. She went on to found Ishtar gallery. Critically, she understood the need to formalize and, in a way, institutionalize Iranian contemporary art – with a mind to how it would allow her to raise awareness and promote funding abroad (when she would ultimately return to the US). It was against this context, that (now prominent) Iranian artists would seek them out also. As their approach to their collection matured, the Azaris saw it eventually becoming a foundation or private museum. Their patronage was born from true passion but was bolstered by a realistic understanding of the necessity for commercial opportunity and international exchange for the art and artists.

How much Sheila’s efforts paved the way for Queen Farah and her decision to found the museum of Modern Art in Tehran with the support of the Pahlavi Foundation in 1977 cannot be directly measured, but it certainly went some way in encouraging it. Notably, while patron and collector Abby Weed Grey is now known as one (if not, the) most important Western collector of contemporary Iranian art during this time, with one of the largest collections of Iranian modern art outside Iran – Sheila Azari’s involvement in the local Iranian artistic community and her desire to expound the creative talents of the country, far preceded Abby Grey.