Behjat Sadr (; 29 May 1924 – 10 August 2009) was an Iranian modern art painter whose works have been exhibited in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In her paintings, Sadr is known for using a palette knife on canvases or metallic surfaces to create visual rhythm, movement and geometric shapes.

Biography

Behjat Sadr was born in Arak, Iran on 29 May 1924. After her studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, she obtained a scholarship to Italy, where she attended the

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The of ...

and the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli The Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli (Naples Academy of Fine Arts) is a university-level art school in Naples. In the past it has been known as the Reale Istituto di Belle Arti and the Reale Accademia di Belle Arti. Founded by King Charles VII ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Soon after arriving in Rome, she abandoned academic painting for an abstract approach. Sadr's first major exhibition was at the Gallery La Bussola in Roma in 1958. She had participated a year before at the twenty-eighth

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

in 1956 and won the second prize of San Vito Romano. During her years in Rome, her friendship deepened during with the Persian poet

Forugh Farrokhzad Forugh Farrokhzad (; 28 December 1934 – 14 February 1967) was an influential Iranian poet and film director. She was a controversial modernist poet and an iconoclastic,* feminist author. Farrokhzad died in a car accident at the age of 32. Ear ...

, who had been her student in Tehran. In Rome, she also met her second husband, the Persian composer,

Morteza Hannaneh Morteza Hannaneh (; 1 March 1923 – 17 October 1989) was an Iranian composer and musician. He composed for some movies, such as '' Fleeing the Trap'' in 1971. Musical career Hannaneh studied Horn at the Tehran Conservatory and basic compositio ...

, whom she married in 1975 and with whom she had her only child, Kakuti (Mitra) Hannaneh. In 1957, Sadr decided to return to the

as a professor, despite opportunities to continue her painting in Rome and Paris. She continued teaching in Tehran for almost 20 years. Awarded the Royal Grand Prize at theTehran Biennale 1962, she participated in international art fairs like the

and

Sao Paulo Biennale SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

and in many personal and group exhibitions. She spent two years in Paris on sabbatical in 1968 and 1975. In 1980, one year after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, Sadr and her daughter moved to Paris.

Death and legacy

Sadr was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in the 1980s but continued to paint. She died of a heart attack on 10 August 2009 at the age of 85 while swimming in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. Several times in her writings, she spoke of her wish to die in the sea. Sadr was the first female contemporary painter to be considered on the same level as her male colleagues in Iran. In 2006, Sadr was the subject of a documentary film called ''Behjat Sadr: Time Suspended,'' directed by

Mitra Farahani Mitra Farahani (in ; born 1975) is an Iranian filmmaker and painter who currently lives in Paris. Biography Mitra Farahani was born on January 27, 1975, in Tehran, Pahlavi Iran. Farahani has a degree in graphic art (1997) from Islamic Azad Un ...

. This film includes footage of the artist at work, as well as extensive interviews. The Behjat Sadr Endowment Fund, ''Fonds de Dotation Behjat Sadr'', was established in 2020 to protect and enhance the artist's work.

Solo exhibitions

* 1957: Il Pincio Gallery, Rome, Italy * 1958: La Bussola, Rome, Italy * 1963: Borghese Gallery, Tehran, Iran * 1967: Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran, Iran * 1975: Cyrus Gallery, Paris, France * 1977: Iranian-American Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran * 1983:

Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximately ...

, Paris, France * 1984: Darial Gallery, Paris, France * 1985: Farhang-Sara Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran * 1994: Nia cultural Center, Tehran, Iran * 2004:

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art ( Persian: موزه هنرهای معاصر تهران), also known as TMoCA, is among the largest art museums in Tehran and Iran. It has collections of more than 3,000 items that include 19th and 20th century ...

, Tehran, Iran * 2008: Golestan Gallery, Tehran, Iran * 2008: Frederic Lacroix Gallery, Paris, France * 2010: Frederic Lacroix Gallery, Paris France * 2018: The Mosaic Rooms, London, UK * 2019: Balice Hertling Gallery, Paris, France * 2022: Balice Hertling Gallery, Paris, France * 2023: "Behjat SADR", IAI
IAIA
New York, USA

Group exhibitions

* 1956:

, Venice, Italy * 1957:

, Venice, Italy * 1957: Galleria Il Pincio, Rome, Italy * 1962:

, Venice, Italy * 1962: The 3rd Tehran Painting Biennale, Tehran, Iran * 1962: São Paulo Art Biennale, São Paulo, Brazil * 1987: ''Iranian Contemporary Art: Four Women,'' Foxley Leach Gallery, Washington DC * 1992:

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, New York, USA * 1992:

, Tehran, Iran * 2002: "Between Word and Image, Modern Iranian Visual Culture", Gray Art Gallery, New York, USA * 2013: "Modernités Plurielles de 1905 à 1970",

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France * 2013: "Iran Modern",

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

, New York, USA * 2014: "Unedited History. Iran 1960-2014", Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France * 2015: "Unedited History. Iran 1960-2014",

MAXXI MAXXI (, 'national museum of 21st-century arts') is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio neighborhood of Rome, Italy. The museum is managed by a foundation created by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The buildi ...

, Roma, Italy * 2021: "Epic Iran",

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London, UK * 2023: '' Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970'',

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fi ...

, London, UK and

Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles The Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles (English: ''Vincent van Gogh Arles Foundation'') is a non-profit foundation and contemporary art museum located in Arles, France, dedicated to the work and legacy of Vincent van Gogh. Its goal is to generate a ...

, Arles, France

References

External links