Leyly Matine-Daftary (; 1937–2007) was an Iranian modernist artist and art educator. She was based in both Tehran and Paris. Matine-Daftary was best known for her flat paintings that highlighted simplicity but still expressed emotions.
Biography Marzieh Leyly Matine-Daftary was born on 19 January 1937 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran (now known as Iran). The only daughter of Ahmad Matin-Daftari and Mansoureh Mossadegh, her mother was the daughter of the Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh and Zia al-Saltaneh.
Matine-Daftarys paternal grandparents were Showkat ad-Dowleh and Mirza Mahmud-Khan Ain ul-Mamalek. Because Showkat ad-Dowleh was the half-sister of Mossadegh, Matine-Daftarys parents were first cousins. Matine-Daftarys father was thrown in prison after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran by the Allies in 1941 because of his German connections.
In 1953, Matine-Daftarys grandfather, Mossadegh, was deposed in a coup d'état.
Matine-Daftary was a close friend of Empress Farah Diba. There was a family connection because the third marriage of great-grand grandmother Najm al-Saltaneh of Matine-Daftary had been to a Diba.
Education After completing her elementary education in Tehran, Matine-Daftary was at the age of ten sent to England where she attended Cheltenham Ladies' College. She obtained a Fine Arts degree from the Slade School of Fine Art before returning to Tehran in the late 1950s.
Artistic career From 1956 until 1960, Matine-Daftary lectured on sculpture and sculpting at the Fine Arts Faculty of Tehran University. Matine-Daftary was involved in the early Tehran Biennial and in the Shiraz Arts Festival, for which she created iconic identifying materials.
Marriage In 1961, Matine-Daftary married her first cousin twice removed, Kaveh Farmanfarmaian, (son of Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma). Farmanfarmaian was a business man and the founder of a number of corporations, such as Bank of Industry and Mining.
The couple had two children, a son and a daughter before divorcing.
After her divorce Matine-Daftary divided her time between Paris and her house in the Ferdows Gardens, in Tehran.
Death Matine-Daftary died in Paris on 17 April 2007.
Exhibitions
2016, "20th Century Art/Middle East", part of Middle East Art Week, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai 2013 – 2014, "Iran Modern", Asia Society, New York City 1974 – 1975, "Exhibition of the Contemporary Iranian Art collection of Farah Pahlavi" - (traveling) Tehran, Islamabad, Delhi, Istanbul, Ankara, Belgrade, Moscow, London and Paris 1973, Salon d’Automne, Paris Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium 1968, "International Festival of Arts", Shiraz Modern Iranian Art and Columbia University, New York City, New York 1967, ”25 Years of Modern Iranian Art”, Tehran Museum, Tehran, Iran 1966, Tehran Biennale, Iranian Pavilion, Official Selection, Tehran, Iran 1962, Tehran Biennale, Iranian Pavilion, Official Selection, Tehran, Iran
See also List of Iranian artists List of Iranian painters List of Iranian women artists
References
External links examples of Leyly Matine-Daftary's work on ArtNet.com