Behjat Sadr

Who was Behjat Sadr?

Behjat Sadr was an Iranian painter whose works have been exhibited in major cities across the world, such as New York, Paris, and Rome. She was born to parents Mohammad Sadr Mahallati and Ghamar Amini Sadr in Arak in 1924. Sadr began her studies at the University of Tehran faculty of fine arts. After her graduation, she won a scholarship to the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts. Sadr's first major exhibition was at the twenty-eighth Venice Biennial in 1956. In 1957, Sadr returned to the University of Tehran as a member of faculty. There she met and married Mortaza Hannaneh, and had her only daughter, Kakouti. Sadr was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s, but continued to paint. She died of a heart attack on August 11, 2009.

Behjat Sadr was the first female contemporary painter to be considered on the same level as her male colleagues in Iran.