Iconoclasm

Tehran, 1979

Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran until the British removed him in 1941, leading to the democratic election of President Mohammad Mossadegh in 1951. However, after he nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company two years later, Mossadegh was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup.

Mohammad Reza, the son of the previous leader Reza Shah Pahlavi, was then installed as Shah and ruled until he was overthrown in the Iranian revolution of 1979. Iranians pulled down this statue of Reza Shah Pahlavi during the revolution.

Sam Durant, Tehran, 1979 (2018), Graphite on paper, 167.3 x 139.7 cm © Sam Durant, Courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo. Photo: Makenzie Goodman