The Arthur Upham Pope collection is composed of approximately 50 rolls of black-and-white negatives. The negatives are the product of Pope's research and time spent in Iran between 1925 and 1928. The photographs focus primarily on Persian architecture and monuments, but also include Persian ceramics, textiles, and illustrate manuscripts. The collection highlights important cities with Persian historical importance, including Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tabriz. (For a complete list see the subjects below.)
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Arthur Upham Pope, born in 1881 in Phoenix, Rhode Island, was an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art. Pope taught at Amherst College and the University of California. He married fellow Persian art historian, Phyllis Ackerman, in 1920. In 1923, Pope was appointed director of the San Francisco Museum. Two years later, he went to Iran to complete research and serve as an art advisor to the Iranian government. In 1928 Pope and some of his colleagues conceived the idea for the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology (later the American Institute for Iranian Art and Archaeology and ultimately the Asia Institute) but it was not until 1930 that it became a membership-based institute in New York City.. He traveled around the world giving lectures and curating exhibitions of Persian art. In 1930, he along with his wife would edit what would be one of their seminal works, Survey of Persian Art. Other works he authored include An Introduction to Persian Art (1930) and Masterpieces in Persian Art (1945). The International Association of Iranian Art elected him president in 1960. Both he and his wife are credited as pioneers in the study in the field of Asian Arts, with a large contribution in Persian art, history, heritage, culture, and its interrelations. During a 1964 state visit to Iran, he and his wife were invited to move the Asia Institute to Shiraz, Iran, as an independent center for publication and study. In 1966 they permanently moved the Institute to Iran and would spend their remaining years there. Upon his passing in 1969, the Shah of Iran would honor him by interring his remains at a Mausoleum in Isfahan.
