Their Imperial Majesties the Shah and the Shahbanou of Iran

I had the last exhibition of my figurative work at the Gallery Motte in Geneve, May of 1970.

In 1971 I received a letter from Madame Motte, saying that during my exhibit the sister of the Shah that apparently lived near the gallery had visited the show and was very impressed. She had picked up a catalogue and sent it to their imperial Majesties. As a result they were now looking for me to commission a sculpture. Madame Motte in her usual generous manner added: “it’s all yours, I don’t want any gallery commission”.

I wrote to Their Imperial Majesties from New York, where at the time I was at my first studio: 414 East 75^th. Shortly after in 1972 I received a telephone call from the Iranian Ambassador, the Permanent Representative at United Nations H.E. Hoveyda to inform me that one of my sculptures had been selected by Their Imperial Majesties. It was a bronze lost-wax casting (48” high): “The Girl Who Flew Away”. He requested an appointment to visit my studio and to see the work in the flesh. He sent one of his collaborators who saw the work and asked me if I could suggest a crating and shipping company. I did. He then in a very cool manner explained that when Their Imperial Majesties would receive the work of art, they would send me a check.

I spent a sleepless night sitting on the edge of my bed and came to the conclusion that if the Shah didn’t send the check, where would I find an attorney in Iran to represent me and so Their Imperial Majesties to recuperate my credit?

I therefore decided, that I was to be paid first and then they could pick up the sculpture. The Ambassador was appalled and yelled: “Do you understand the greatness of the people you are dealing with?”. Indeed I do, I replied but this is what my accountant requires. To make a long story short, it was obvious that he did not want to advance the money and wait for the Shah’s protocol to be reimbursed. He was on a spot, for he had precise “orders” from the Shah, therefore very reluctantly he gave me a check and after I cashed it, they were allowed to pick up the sculpture. Sure, I ran the risk not to sell the work at my conditions, but at least I had not lost the sculpture. The other way I would no longer have the sculpture nor the money.

From that time on every consecutive year (from 1972 to 1977) they purchased one or two sculptures. The last one was a major stone carving “Elissi Rosa”. It was commissioned for the new museum of Modern Art in Teheran.

Every time there was the same difficult story about the payment, but I firmly held on to my way of doing business with them.

I had every dealer asking to represent me, obviously they wanted to get to the Shah. Marlboro in Rome was one of them. They were all eager to send works of art and they would never pay.

The Ambassador at United Nations had seen “Elissi Rosa” while I was having my solo exhibit at Gimpel in the spring of 1976, but the sculpture had been sold to Soros. When he came back to purchase it and found that it had been sold he was furious and walked out of the gallery.

I got around the dealer’s stupidity in not knowing how to better handle this particular situation by writing a letter to Their Imperial Majesties saying that I would be happy to make “Elissi Rosa” in the proper scale required by their space. The answer was yes, they wanted one 8 feet high. Gimpel having done nothing, wanted their commission before I even started to make the sculpture. The contract I made with the Shah was: 50% upon commissioning the work; 25% while the carving was progressing (I would send pictures) and the remaining 25% when the sculpture was ready at my stone-yard in Tuscany, not later than March 1977. The could send someone to inspect the work that would travel to Iran at their risk. I told Gimpel that they would receive their commission for doing nothing at the end when I had been paid in full for my work.

Concerning the 75% there was no problem but the last 25% was a gangster story.

No one would come and pick up the finished sculpture. I therefore sent a telegram to the Shah saying that the sculpture was ready to be created and I was closing up my studio in Tuscany in two weeks time to go to New York, I would not return before at least six months, please give instructions. The Ambassador at the Holy Seat in the Vatican received immediate instructions. He called to ask if I could send the work to Rome to my shipping agent Lucidi, where they would inspected it and pay the 25% balance plus shipping to Rome. Lucidi sent a truck with crane and packing material, the sculpture was picked up, driven to Rome and installed in their warehouse. I had used Lucidi as my shipping agent around the world for the past 15 years, so she received my firm instructions.

After inspecting “Elissi Rosa” the Ambassador sent me a check made out to himself not transferable. I called him and asked him to send someone to pick it up at Lucidi. I was living in two days and this time I wanted cash no more checks and I was sending a telegram to the Shah. I gave him an appointment in front of the post office inside the Vatican City. He arrived with two cars and six men got out of their car and came around me “gangster style”. He gave me an envelope with the money. I walked inside the post office to count the cash and I left it with my son in a brief case. While I came out to tell them that everything was ok my son had walked away and went to the exit of the Vatican where a car driven by our friend was waiting for us. The Ambassador and his six men left. I went to the bank to check the currency and gave the ok to Lucidi to crate and ship as per their instructions.

Their next step was to propose an exhibition of my work in a cultural space in Theheran. I asked for dimensions of the space and it was agreed that 18 sculptures, human scale would be appropriate.

In the midst of crating I dropped the cultural attaché a note to ask if I was allowed to sell the work and what would be the commission. Somehow I was convinced that Their Imperial Majesties would not allow for anyone in Iran to purchase work of an artist that the collected. I received a telegram stating that I could sell the work and the commission would be 100%. Sure, I thought they must have made a mistake of one zero too much, and would probably be 10%. When asking if there was an error about one zero too much, I was shocked to learn that there was no error, it would indeed be 100%.

They had found a great way to confiscate my 18 sculptures. Someone would come and purchase the 18 sculptures and before leaving the Country I would have to return the money. They also wanted me to pay the shipping charges to Teheran. They must have really liked my figurative work a lot to figure out such a scheme. I cancelled the show and that was my last dealing with them. The Shah had cancer, fled the Country and died. His second wife and sons were in touch with me many years later. H.E. Hoveyda in partnership with someone, to cover my studio at 114 East 75^th in New York City when I moved to the space I had purchased at 140 Thompson in Soho; a three story high trucking garage of a paper mill, which I transformed into one of the most beautiful space in New York City. It was around the corner from Leo Castelli Gallery and on the same street of the Gagosian-Castelli adventure. Everyone who had sent work to the Shah in Teheran was never paid.

The Cidonio’s brothers who in 1960 had built roads, bridges etc., were never paid and were forced into bankruptcy. The banks in Italy to cover all the quarries that they owned with the youngest brother great art collection. It was only several years after in 1965 that the younger brother Erminio Cidonio was able to start over again and open his own place called “The Officina Cidonio”, where I was invited to work in 1966. One could only work there by invitation, artists lived and worked on the premises. I was the youngest of the very distinguished group: Arp, Moore, Noguchi, the only women. I worked there from 1966 to 1972 sharing a studio with Isamu Noguchi for 6 years, who remained a lifetime friend. Knowing the Cidonio story I was therefore very careful in my dealings with Iran when they got in touch with e in 1972.