Ardeshir Zahedi

Ardeshir Zahedi is a recurring presence in Andy Warhol’s accounts of New York events held in honor of Farah Pahlavi, the Empress of Iran. The diary records him in the formal receiving line at a lunch at The Pierre and later as a speaker at a Waldorf Towers event, locating him within the diplomatic and civic company assembled around the Empress without supplying a fuller account of his views or private life.

Public Role and Setting

At the July 7, 1977 luncheon at The Pierre, Warhol and Bob Colacello joined a gathering honoring the Empress. Demonstrators stood outside, and Warhol described their presence as frightening; inside, Governor Carey, Mayor Beame, and Zahedi were in the receiving line. The entry gives Zahedi no speech or personal exchange at this lunch, but his place in the line identifies him as one of the event’s official hosts or representatives in the diary’s scene.

The atmosphere shifted abruptly when a woman in the press section stood and denounced the Empress’s remarks as lies before being dragged out. The Empress continued reading her prepared speech and later apologized for the disruption, while explaining that advances in women’s rights in Iran might seem limited to Americans but represented significant steps there. Zahedi’s presence is recorded against this clash between ceremonial diplomacy and protest; the diary does not attribute a response to him.

At the Iranian Embassy

At the Iranian embassy, where Warhol encountered Otto Preminger again, Zahedi was associated with the portrait of the Empress. Warhol posed for photographs with her in front of the portrait. She remarked that she was jealous of Amir Abbas Hoveyda because he had eight Warhols while she had only four. The moment connects Zahedi’s diplomatic setting to Warhol’s portrait-making and to the Empress’s playful comparison of their collections; it does not establish Zahedi’s own opinion of the artwork or the exchange.

A Place Among the Speakers

At a later gathering for artists at the Waldorf Towers, Zahedi appeared among a crowded roster that included Farah Pahlavi, Barbara Walters, Roone Arledge, Mayor Koch, Governor Carey, and Henry Kissinger. Warhol notes that the speeches began with Zahedi, followed by the Empress, Koch, Carey, and Kissinger, whose address lasted almost forty-five minutes. The diary records the order and length of the speeches but not what Zahedi said, preserving his role in the program while leaving his words outside the account.

Narrative Presence

Across these entries, Zahedi is defined by where he appears: in a receiving line, at the embassy portrait session, and first among the speakers at a formal gathering. The diary’s focus remains on Warhol’s access to these events and on their surrounding details—the protest outside The Pierre, the Empress’s portrait and comparison of Warhol collections, and the procession of speakers at the Waldorf Towers. Zahedi consequently emerges as a visible diplomatic figure in Warhol’s social record, while the evidence offers no developed personal portrait or sustained account of his relationship with Warhol.