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Pollock masterpiece from Iran exhibited in Tokyo for 1st time
In Iranian museum vault lies a rare collection of western arts whose value runs into tens of billions of dollars and most not seen by public for over three decades now. Most of this art has been accumulated by Shah's family when they were in power and includes the most expensive arts and some nude works of famous western artists.
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A masterpiece by U.S. artist Jackson Pollock titled "Mural on Indian Red Ground" is being exhibited at a Tokyo museum for the first time outside Iran where the painting has been kept since the 1970s.
The Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art is holding an exhibition of Pollock (1912-1956) including the work on loan from the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and valued at $250 million.
The value is considered the world highest as a painting, exceeding that of the same artist's other masterpiece called "No. 5, 1948," which was traded at about $140 million in 2006, the highest ever at the time.
The painting is on display with some 70 other works at the exhibition titled "Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective, " which began Feb. 10 and runs until May 6.
It was exhibited earlier at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Nagoya from November to January.
Kazuo Nakabayashi, chief curator of the Tokyo museum, said the painting "has been a legend among art circles in the world."
"Mural on Indian Red Ground" was purchased in 1976 by Empress Farah, the wife of pro-American Shah Pahlavi.
In 1979, the monarchy was replaced by an anti-American government led by Islamic clerics, whereby the painting underwent criticism from Islamic conservatives who called for discarding such a picture which they said seemed to be one of those painted by children.
In September 2010, KazutoshiAikawa, then minister at the Japanese Embassy in Iran, saw the work at an exhibition in Tehran.
He told the Tokyo museum, which was planning to hold a retrospective exhibition of Pollock, about what he saw.
The museum had considered it would be impossible to bring the work from Iran due to its hostile relations with Western countries but began seeking to borrow it, after taking a cue from the embassy.
Hurdles to realize the project, however, were high.
A Swiss insurance company rejected allowing the museum to take out insurance on the painting when it is borrowed, citing a possibility that the insurance money, if paid, might be used for nuclear weapons development.
The museum also had to switch the air carrier from Iran Air to Emirates as the former said there was a problem in refueling affected by sanctions on Iran, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the organizer of the exhibition.
"We trust Japan and think it would be good for relationships between Iran and Japan,"MahmoodShalooei, director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, said as reasons for lending the artwork to Japan.
"We would be willing to lend it to other countries if requested," he said.
Pollock masterpiece from Iran exhibited in Tokyo for 1st time - The Mainichi Daily News
In Iranian museum vault lies a rare collection of western arts whose value runs into tens of billions of dollars and most not seen by public for over three decades now. Most of this art has been accumulated by Shah's family when they were in power and includes the most expensive arts and some nude works of famous western artists.
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A masterpiece by U.S. artist Jackson Pollock titled "Mural on Indian Red Ground" is being exhibited at a Tokyo museum for the first time outside Iran where the painting has been kept since the 1970s.
The Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art is holding an exhibition of Pollock (1912-1956) including the work on loan from the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and valued at $250 million.
The value is considered the world highest as a painting, exceeding that of the same artist's other masterpiece called "No. 5, 1948," which was traded at about $140 million in 2006, the highest ever at the time.
The painting is on display with some 70 other works at the exhibition titled "Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective, " which began Feb. 10 and runs until May 6.
It was exhibited earlier at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Nagoya from November to January.
Kazuo Nakabayashi, chief curator of the Tokyo museum, said the painting "has been a legend among art circles in the world."
"Mural on Indian Red Ground" was purchased in 1976 by Empress Farah, the wife of pro-American Shah Pahlavi.
In 1979, the monarchy was replaced by an anti-American government led by Islamic clerics, whereby the painting underwent criticism from Islamic conservatives who called for discarding such a picture which they said seemed to be one of those painted by children.
In September 2010, KazutoshiAikawa, then minister at the Japanese Embassy in Iran, saw the work at an exhibition in Tehran.
He told the Tokyo museum, which was planning to hold a retrospective exhibition of Pollock, about what he saw.
The museum had considered it would be impossible to bring the work from Iran due to its hostile relations with Western countries but began seeking to borrow it, after taking a cue from the embassy.
Hurdles to realize the project, however, were high.
A Swiss insurance company rejected allowing the museum to take out insurance on the painting when it is borrowed, citing a possibility that the insurance money, if paid, might be used for nuclear weapons development.
The museum also had to switch the air carrier from Iran Air to Emirates as the former said there was a problem in refueling affected by sanctions on Iran, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the organizer of the exhibition.
"We trust Japan and think it would be good for relationships between Iran and Japan,"MahmoodShalooei, director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, said as reasons for lending the artwork to Japan.
"We would be willing to lend it to other countries if requested," he said.
Pollock masterpiece from Iran exhibited in Tokyo for 1st time - The Mainichi Daily News
