The Dazzling Beauty of Elizabeth Taylor in Iran

In 1976, actress Elizabeth Taylor and then-aspiring photographer Firooz Zahedi journeyed across the world to Tehran. They dined with royalty, toured ancient sites, shopped in the Grand Bazaar, and perhaps most importantly, took a series of photographs that offer beautiful glimpses of Iran before the revolution and provide an intimate portrait of a 20th-century film icon. Though never intended for public view, Andy Warhol published the photos in Interview magazine shortly after Zahedi and Taylor returned from Iran, and in 2012 they were exhibited at LACMA. Zahedi and Taylor remained close friends and he continued to photograph her throughout the rest of her life. In this episode of Expert Voices, Firooz Zahedi shares the stories behind the captivating images of Elizabeth Taylor in Iran and describes how this remarkable experience influenced his now decades-long career as a celebrated photographer. Sotheby’s will offer one of these magnificent photographs, Elizabeth Taylor Dressed as an Odalisque II, in our 20th Century Art / Middle East sale. (30 April | London, 2019)