Distinguished Iranian Artist Monir Farmanfarmaian Passes Away
U.S. -- Iran mosaic artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian being interviewed, New York, 23Mar2011
Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian has passed away at the age of 97, according to ISNA news agency.
A versatile artist Monir participated in the Iran Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1958, 1964, and 1966. She also had solo exhibitions in New York and Paris during her distinguished career.
Born in Iran in the northern province ofQazvin in 1924, Monir wanted to study art in Paris but this was not possible because of World War II. Monir was able to get to the United States and study at Cornell University and at the prominent Parsons School for Design where she received a certificate in fashion illustration. After 12 years in New York she returned to Iran where she actively participated in local art scene.
Monir was known for her micro-mosaic and glass sculptures, but she also worked alongside with Andy Warhol as an illustrator at the Bonwit Teller luxury department store in the 1950s. During Warhol's visit to Tehran in 1976 Monir presented him with her Mirror Ballworks.
New York: Guggenheim Museum, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Infinite Possibility. Mirror Works and Drawings.
She did not return to Iran after the 1979 revolution, as many of her works and her home were confiscated including an extensive collection of folk art that she acquired during her vast travel around Iran.
She returned to Iran in 2004 and in 2017 The Monir Museum opened in Tehran which features over fifty pieces of her work. This was a first museum in Iran that was dedicated to the work of a female artist.
Look Back At The Works Of Monir Farmanfarmaian
1/10A woman admires an painting by Iranian artists Mounir Farmanfarmaian at an exhibition set by Christie's auction house in Dubai on April 26, 2009. (Photo by MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP)
2/10An artwork entitled "Floating Hexagon" by Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian, is pictured at Sothebys auction house in central London, 19 October 2007.(Photo by LEON NEAL / AFP)
4/10When it is auctioned in the first ever single owner Modern and Contemporary Iranian sale, called Alchemy: Objects of Desire on April 21. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
6/10A Sotheby's employee looks towards an artwork by Monir Farmanfarmaian, at Sotheby's auction rooms in London, Friday, April 15, 2016. The painting is expected to realise 80,000-100,000 UK pounds (113,506-141,882 US dollars) when it is auctioned in the firs
8/10Visitors look at the 'Triangle of Hope' by Monir Farmanfarmaian as part of the Middle Eastern Art auction at the auction house Sotheby's in London, Friday, April 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
10/10A visitor passes a painting titled by "Zahra's Image by Iranian artits Monir Farmanfarmaian during an exhibition at Christie's Auction house in Dubai on March 15, 2015 AFP PHOTO / KARIM SAHIB
