An Iranian museum holds a rare exhibit of American art, reflecting on war
By MEHDI FATTAHI
Updated 11:43 AM EDT, May 8, 2026
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — "The artworks are distinctly American — famed pieces in vivid colors wrestling with themes of war, violence, pop culture and commercialism. What’s startling is where they’re on display: In a museum in the Iranian capital, at a time the two countries are locked in conflict.
"While the city’s streets are lined with anti-American billboards and posters, #Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art opened an exhibit this week of six works by three American Pop artists of the 1960s -- #RoyLichtenstein, #RobertIndiana and #JamesRosenquist – mainly chosen for their #AntiWar themes.
"The works come from the museum’s large collection of masterpieces of American and European modern art that was acquired by the wife of the former shah in the 1970s. Most of it has been kept out of view since the Western-backed monarch was ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"After living under #USIsraeli bombardment for weeks, the young men and women strolling the gallery felt a resonance from the works.
"Some contemplated #Rosenquist’s 'F-111,' a collage dating to the era of the U.S. bombardment of #Vietnam that critiques America’s #MilitaryIndustrialComplex with images of a warplane’s fuselage, a #nuclear #MushroomCloud and a child’s face."
Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-american-pop-art-museum-b5f86ef0fe42badd4cdce38c395d9e21
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