Parviz Kalantari

Parviz Kalantari, a painter and illustrator who is best known as the creator of persian paintings and illustrations in modern Iranian art. He is the author of many memorable textbook stories such as "The Fox and the Crow" and "The Liar Shepherd".

Parviz Kalantari studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in university of Tehran from 1951, and the following year he worked at "Franklin" publishing house as an illustrator. He had started illustrating textbooks in the same publishing house in 1955 and created lasting images for textbooks, which are considered to be one of the most memorable images of school textbooks. He also started cooperating with the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents in 1968. Kalantari held his first solo exhibition at the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1961 and since then his works have been showcased in several exhibitions in Iran and other countries. Kalantari's first appearance at the auctions dates back to April 2008 at the Christie's Auction House.

One of the most important features of Kalantari works was the use of thatch. Although Kalantari's works are created based on the visual components of Iranian art, they mostly depict Iranian tribes and architecture instead of characteristics of Qajar and traditional art.

"He was an angel and we ​​were so caught up in trivial anxieties and joys that we didn’t care enough to see this alive angel,” Aydin Aghdashloo said about Parviz Kalantari. “He was so influential and memorable that the history of contemporary Iranian art from the 1940s onwards cannot be written without mentioning, remembering and praising Parviz Kalantari.”