Dali, Salvador: 1904-1989 (Spain)

The Artist:

Salvador Dali was born in Figueris, Catolonia in 1904. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. In addition to his art studies he read philosophy and Freud. A painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer, he is best known for his Surrealist art although early in his career he worked in Cubism, Futurism and Metaphysical styles.

In 1929 Dali moved to Paris where his talent for self publicity made him the most famous representative of the Surrealist style. Throughout his life he cultivated eccentricity and exaggerated his disposition toward megalomanic exhibitionism.

His paintings of the 1930's include several of the established classics of Surrealism, and a unique interpretive style of imagery that has been described as strangely hallucinatory in character. Dali used recurring images throughout his career including the human figure with half-open drawers, burning giraffes, and watches bent and flowing as if made of melting wax. Sexual subjects and pictures centering on his wife were preoccupations. In the late 1930's Dali visited Italy and adopted a more traditional style and this combined with his political views led to his leaving the Surrealistic ranks.

In 1940 Dali moved to the USA. The Museum of Modern Art in New York presented a large retrospective exhibition of his work in 1941. From 1948 he lived in Spain and spent time in Paris and New York. In his old age he became one of the world's most famous recluses, generating rumors and occasional scandals to the end. Dali is one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. There is a museum devoted to his work in Figueras Spain, his birthplace, and two in the USA, at Cleveland Ohio and St. Petersburg Florida. His work is collected in most major museums throughout the world.

The Art:

Among Dali's late work are those including religious themes. His best known is The Crucifixion and The Last Supper. Dali illustrated Dante's Divime Comedy, with 101 wood engravings. Like Dali, Dante's symbolism is complex. Both men had an interest in scientific study, in geology, optics, and mathematics.

Dali2003-4T Salvador Dali. Homage to Homer suite. A USA edition of 350 and an International edition of 350. The paper size is 30" x 40". The two images in the suite are 29" x 21". The suite was acquired in 1977. The artworks are signed and numbered in pencil. This suite represents Dali's classic work from this prime period of his artistic career, both in terms of subject matter and artistic style. The printmaking is exquisite; the depth of color gives the art a subtle quality and a rich surface, simultaneously. The surface is velvet-like. The artworks, margins and art surface, are in pristine condition. Close-Up

Dali2003 Salvador Dali. Helen of Troy from the Homage to Homer suite. 56/350. Lithograph. The paper size is 30" x 40". The image size is 29" x 21". The lithograph was acquired in 1977. The artwork is signed and numbered in pencil. This lithograph is a classic Dali image from this prime period of his artistic career, both in terms of subject matter and artistic style. The printing is exquisite. The depth of color allows a subtle quality and a rich surface to move across the page creating a visual quality like velvet. The artwork, margins and art surface, is in pristine condition. Close-Up $4,200.

Contact us