Mural on Indian Red Ground,’ painted by Jackson Pollock in 1950.

The U.S. and Iran have been at odds for decades, with tensions escalating further this year amid talk of possible armed conflict in the Middle East over Tehran’s nuclear program.

But in Japan, a nation that tries to maintain good relations with both countries, a major exhibition featuring the work of one of America’s most recognizable artists is showing how appreciation for good art can bring even the most intractable foes closer together.

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, has been holding a special exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of American abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock.

Visitors to the museum, located near the moat surrounding the leafy Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, are unlikely to be surprised that “Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective” has received what the museum describes on its website as “special support” from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

But the fact the exhibition, which wraps up a three-month run Sunday, is also “patronized” by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran might raise a few eyebrows.

As it turns out, there is a good reason for Iranian involvement. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art has lent a famous and extremely valuable Pollock painting it possesses, Mural on Indian Red Ground, for the current exhibit.

“That we are receiving support from both America and Iran has made it a rare exhibition,” said Kazuo Nakabayashi, chief curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

The 1950 painting made its way to the Middle Eastern country in the 1970s during the reign of the Shah of Iran and remained there after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Nakabayashi said in an interview Tuesday.

He added that Iran was quite enthusiastic about lending the painting for the exhibit, something he attributes to a positive impression of Japan in the country due to the showing there of a 1980s Japanese serialized television drama, Japanese movies and a shared historical heritage related to the famed Silk Road trading route