Antoin Sevruguin (late 1830s–1933) was one of Iran’s most creative and prolific early photographers. His photographs—which span the period 1870 to 1930 and are clearly inspired by both European and Iranian models—document in detail an unprecedented period in Iranian history in which modernity and tradition stood side by side.

This exhibition of over thirty-five photographs presents a panorama of Sevruguin’s documentation of the social history and visual culture of Iran and reflects the complexity of his identity and that of his multicultural clientele. Sevruguin’s compelling images capture aspects of everyday life, ethnography, the royal court, architecture, Western fantasies, and women.

Antoin Sevruguin and the Persian Image was organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C., which also produced the accompanying catalogue.