At Columbia University he was deeply engaged in developing undergraduate
and graduate courses, teaching and supervising, and taking his full part
in departmental and university duties. He was also planning volumes for a
projected series of translations of Persian classical works called Persian
Heritage Series. UNESCO had a similar project in hand, under the title of
Persian Representative Works, but it was making little progress. In 1962
the UNESCO department concerned proposed that their undertaking should be
merged with Ehsan Yarshater's. This series was funded largely by the
Bongah-e Tarjoma, with smaller contributions by UNESCO; and its agreed aim
was to make "the best of Persian literary, historical and scientific texts
available in the major world languages ... not only to satisfy the needs
of the students of Persian history and culture, but also to respond to the
demands of the intelligent reader who seeks to broaden his intellectual
and artistic horizons." Under Ehsan Yarshater's direction the publication
of volumes in this important new series proceeded apace.
From 1964 to 1966 he was granted extended sabbatical leave, which he spent
in Iran. The royal Pahlavi Foundation was established in 1964, and the
prestigious Bongah-e Tarjoma was made one of its affiliates. "In
editorial matters, however, the Institute continued to maintain
essentially an independent stance, with the director exerting full
discretion in the choice of works and the selection of authors, editors
and translators in the series published under his general editorship."
As well as devoting much time to the Bongah's affairs during these two
years, Ehsan Yarshater brought out in two volumes his own Naqqashi-e novin
(Modern Painting) . This he published under the pen-name Rahsepar, which
he had used as art-critic over the years for the journal Sokhan (published
by his friend P.N. Khanlari). His reason for seeking anonymity was that
he regarded these writings as the fruit of an amateur interest only; but
Naqqashi-e novin, reprinted in 1975, remains the only substantial work of
recognized merit in Persian devoted to this subject. Chapters from it
have been prescribed for classwork, and others have been included, for the
quality of their writing, in Jalal Matini's Nemunahai az nathr-e fasih-e
mo'aser (An Anthology of Contemporary Eloquent Persian Prose.)
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