Publication: The Exchange - Shahnameh/de Kooning

The extraordinary story behind probably the most unlikely art deal of the 20th century, told in full for the first time by its protagonist, the late Oliver Hoare (1945–2018) .

Available from 20th September 2024.

In July 1994, on the tarmac of Vienna airport, a clandestine swap saw the government of Iran acquire the most significant part of the 16th century Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp – the greatest manuscript in the history of Persian painting – in return for Willem de Kooning’s Woman III. This was the culmination of a series of events which had taken place over many years, and which resulted in an extraordinary and ambitious exchange described at the time as the ‘cultural coup of the 1990s’. At the centre of the deal was a charismatic art dealer who dared to pursue the improbable: the late Oliver Hoare (1945-2018).

The Exchange is Hoare’s memoir and first-hand account of this remarkable transaction, told in full for the first time and published posthumously on the 30th anniversary of its conclusion. Recounting in fascinating and humorous detail the background and potential pitfalls in securing the deal, the book also tells colourful tales of travels through pre-revolutionary Iran in the 1960s and 1970s, and the evolution of the market for art of the Islamic world of which Hoare was the pioneer.

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The Exchange

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