(1937 - 2007)
Born in Tehran in 1937, Leyly was an Iranian modernist artist and art educator based in both Tehran and Paris. She was best known for her flat paintings that highlighted simplicity but still expressed emotions. After completing her elementary education in Tehran, she attended Cheltenham Ladies' College. She obtained a Fine Arts degree from the Slade School of Fine Art before returning to Tehran in the late 1950s. From 1960 until 1956 she lectured on sculpture and sculpting at the Fine Arts Faculty of Tehran University. Matine-Daftary was involved in the early Tehran Biennial and in the Shiraz Arts Festival, for which she created iconic identifying materials. Leyly Matine-Daftary died in Paris on 17 April 2007.