The Museum of Fine Arts is located in the southern part of the Saadabad Palace complex in Tehran. It houses a distinguished collection of valuable paintings, representing both Iranian and international art traditions.
Construction of the museum building began in 1940 during the reign of Reza Shah, but remained unfinished following his exile in 1941. In 1967, the building was repurposed to serve as the Ministry of Court. Eventually, in 1982, it was officially converted into the Museum of Fine Arts and opened to the public.
The museum is also known as the Black Palace, a name derived from its striking exterior, which is clad in black marble. The building consists of a ground floor and two upper floors, each containing several galleries and exhibition halls. Today, all three floors are dedicated to displaying an impressive range of paintings representing various artistic styles from Iran and around the world.
The ground floor currently displays 19 contemporary paintings by prominent Iranian artists who experimented with modern techniques and styles. Featured artists include Sohrab Sepehri, Hossein Mahjoubi, Faramarz Pilaram, Hossein Zenderoudi, and Parvaneh Etemadi. In addition, the museum showcases eight remarkable paintings by the celebrated Iranian artist Mohammad Ghaffari, widely known as Kamal-ol-Molk.
The first floor is dedicated to European paintings created between the 17th and 20th centuries, representing a variety of artistic schools and movements. The collection includes works by painters from German, British, French, and Russian schools. Notable artists whose works are exhibited here include Salvador Dalí, John Frederick Herring, Peter Graham, Ivan Shishkin, François Musin, and Jules Breton.
The second floor features paintings by Iranian artists from the Safavid, Zand, and Qajar periods. Many Safavid-era works portray courtiers and members of the royal court, reflecting the artistic focus of the time on royal and aristocratic life. As a result, numerous paintings depict kings, princes, court women, and high-ranking officials. One of the most significant works on this floor is a panel illustrating Nader Shah crowning Mohammad Shah Gurkani, the ruler of India.
The Museum of Fine Arts is open to visitors daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
