The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) is considered to have the most valuable collection of Western modern art outside Europe and North America. Tucked away in the museum’s 40-year-old treasure vault are such masterpieces as Picasso’s "Artist and His Model," Francis Bacon’s "Two Figures Lying on a Bed With Attendants," Andy Warhol’s "Suicide," Vincent van Gogh’s "At Eternity’s Gate,” Jackson Pollock’s "Mural on Indian Red Ground" and many, many more treasures.

Work is underway to showcase all of the artwork housed at the museum on its website. However, until this process is complete, there will be no permanent displays of the pieces due to what has been described as a lack of space as well as “cultural issues.” There have also been numerous reports in the Iranian media during the past year about some art being stolen but eventually returned.

The idea for the impressive art collection at TMoCA came in 1966 from Farah Pahlavi, the former queen of Iran. The museum itself was designed and built by Kamran Diba — a prominent architect and a cousin of Pahlavi — and inaugurated in 1977. The galleries were designed in such a way that light enters through windows that are reminiscent of the famed wind-catchers in the ancient city of Yazd.

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