A rare, inscribed lithograph by Vincent van Gogh, 'At Eternity's Gate,' resides in the collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. The work, one of only seven surviving examples, was acquired in 1975 by Farah Pahlavi, the wife of the Shah of Iran, for the museum. It passed through notable hands, including those of US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, before arriving in Tehran just before the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The print's current status—largely kept in storage due to anti-Western sentiment in Iran—and its poignant title have given it renewed symbolic weight amid regional tensions. The article traces the artwork's journey from Van Gogh's original creation and its personal meaning as a form of self-portrait expressing anguish, to its role as a unique cultural artifact caught in geopolitical currents, highlighting the complex intersection of art, politics, and provenance.