The

Grand
Master of
Surreali
"His... work... embraced psychoanalysis,
modern science, and reiigious mysticism, redefined
the boundaries of art, fashion, and popular cuiture in
ways that we are only now beginning to understand."
Philippe Halsman,
"Portrait of
Salvador Dali,"
?
ieiatin silver print
1942). Philippe
Halsman Estate.
Courtesy of
Howard Greenberg
Gallery, New York.
S
ALVADOR DALI (1904-89). among
lhe most infiuentiid artisis of the 20th
century, is the subject of the first com-
prehensive retrospective exhibition to
tie o)-gani?ed since tlie artist's death and the
first to be seen in lhe U.S. in more than 60
\cars. It embraces every aspect of his creative
life as painter, writer, object-maker, designer of
ballets and exhibitions, filmmaker, theorist.
and publici.st. It includes more than 2tK) works,
placing Dali's famous surrealist canvases of
the 1920s and 1930s in context with his eiiriy
and later efforts and reassessing his position in
modem an, Tlie exhibition is cotnposed ttf 150
USA TODAY * MAY 2005
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubicus)," oil on canvas
(1954). The MetropqUtaiJ JJfl ' ' ^ '
MUSEUMS TODAY
paintings, the largest number of Dalfs pictures
ever to be assemhlcii (oyether. actompiinied
by sculpUire. works on pa|ici\ photographs of
Ihe artisi. and a tloc-unientary section.
"Dali is one of the best-known artists ot" ;ill
time and yet. 16 years atter his death and de-
spite such remarkable public recognition, his
aehievemeni has yet to be lully understood."
says Anne crHanioncourt. director ol" the Phil-
adelphia Museum of Art. "This exhibition will
provide a .splendid opportunity for scholars,
iutists. and visitors to encounter a complete iiiui
complex piclure of the artist's oeuvre."
Dalfs lasting importance has been much de-
bated and discussed in recent yeani as exhibi-
tions and scholarly studies have begun to reex-
iimine seriously tlie breadth ajid intelligence of
his w^irk over seven decades, as welt as explor-
ing his impact on subsequent generations of
artists. Surrealism has been the preeminent
context for ilie understanding of Dalfs work.
and his relationship with this movement i.s a
signilicani focus witliin the exhibition.
"Dali"' is organi/,ed chronologically, begin-
ning with the Catalan-bom master's earliest ef-
Right: "Dream
caused by the Flight
of a Bee Around a
Pomegranate, One
Second Before
Awakening," oil on
canvas (1944).
Museo Thyssen-
BornemJsza,
Madrid.
Below right: "Fig-
ure at a Windovtf,"
oil on canvas (1925).
Museo Nacional
Centro De Arte
Reina Sofia, Madrid,
Below left: 'Tbe
Madonna of Port
Lligat (first ver-
sion)," oil on canvas
(1949). The Patrick
and Beatrice
Haggerty Museum
of Art, Marquette
University, Milwau-
kee, Wis.
36 USA TODAY MAY 2005
l*^^
"Basket of Bread,"
oil on panel
(1926). The
Salvador Dali
Museum, St,
Petersburg, Fla.
J l /
ions from his art sch(X)I days in Madrid, when;
he quickly absorbed the techniques of such
Spanish masters as Francisco de Zurbardn.
Diego VeUlzquez. and Francisco de Goya, be-
fore assimilating moix' recent developments in
painting such as Impressionism and Cubism.
hicluded luiiong the eiirly paintings in the exhi-
bition lire tlie astonishingly rciilistic "Basket ol"
Bread" (1926). and portraits of family mem-
liei's. such as "Figure al a Window" (1925). as
well as his rii\t eontrihutions to tht- Euai|ican
avant-giuxie in the I'>2()s. when he rapidly rr-
acted to the work of his contemporaries .loan
Miro and Pablo Picasso, Other early works rc-
flect his friendships with the poel Federico
Gareia Lon:a and the tllmmaker Luis Bufiuel
with whom he developed the wholly iiidi\'idual
mode of "anti-art"^seen in eanvases such as
"Unsatisfied Desires" (1928) and the "Little
Cindei-s(CenicULs)" (1927-28).
Dali' perhaps is best known for the Surrealist
paintings he made between 1929-.19. in which
he tr;uisfomied peiM)nal desires and obsessions
into some of tlie most iuresting images of the
20th century; Paintings like "Ilie First Days of
USATODAY * MAY 2005 37
MUSEUMS TODAY
"Soft Construction wi t h Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War." oil on canvas (1936). Tbe
Arensberg Collection, Philadelpbia Museum of Art.
"Portrait of My Dead Brother," oil on can-
vas (1963). The Salvador Dalf Museum, St.
Petersburg, Fla.
Spring" (1929) and "The Enigma of Desire:
My Mother . . ." (1929). executed with the
minute realism that he called "hiindmade color
pholography." leil ptxM mid essayist Andre Bn;-
tonone of the founders of the Surrealist
movementto welcome the artist into its
nuiks. That same year. Dali' met Gala Eltiard,
then the wife of Sumjalist poet Paul Eluard.
"Little Cinders (Cenicitas)." oil on panel (1927-28), Museo Na-
"Autumnal Cannibalism," oil on canvas (1936), The Tate Modern, London. cional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid,
38 USATODAY * MAY 2005
"Premature Ossification of a Railway Station," oil on canvas
(1930). Alan Koppel Gallery, Chicago.
"Tbe Railway Station at Perpignan," oil on canvas (1965), Museum
Ludwig, Cologne.
She became his lifelong companion, artistic
muse, and alter ego. and the exhibition will in-
clude numerous portraits of her. among them
"Gala and the Angelus of Millet Preceding the
Imminent Arrival of the Conical Anamor-
pho,ses"(l933),
DaJi' invented what he called the "Piu-a-
noiac-Critica! method" to investigate the mys-
teries of the subconscious, Inlliienced by
Freudian psychoanalysis, ihe artist invested
myths and legends with di,siuitiing psycholog-
ical meanings, often related (o his own es-
tranged relationship with his father, a formida-
ble notary, and his beloved mother, who died
when he was 16, Pidntings such as "William
Tell" (1930) and "Spectre of Sex Appeal"
(1934) show how Dalf transformed existing
myths to create his own unique visual lan-
guage. The Paranoiac-Critical method also
was the source of the double images that are
such a striking a.spect of his work of the late
193{)s. as seen in "The Metamorpho.sis of Nar-
cissus" (1937) iind "Apparition of a Face and
Faiit Dish on a Beach" (1938).
USATODAY * MAY 2005 39
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> ^
"Apparition of a Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach," oil on canvas (1938). The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn.
The exhibition also examines Dali's re-
sptmsc lo the convulsive politics of Europe in
the 193()s. seen in such landniiirk paintings as
"Soli Constniclion witJi Boiled Beans: Premo-
nition of Civil War'' iind "Autumnal Cannibal-
ism." These 1936 works are poignant alle-
gories of the Spanish Civil War. which Dalf
viewed as a "delirium of auto-stransulation."
It was partly Dalf's ambivalent reaction to the
conflict in his homeland llial led to his expul-
sion from the Sunvalist group in 1939,
Anoiher aspect of the retrospective is a
thorough examination of Dalf's less-known
post-World Wiir II period, which is marked by
technical virtuosity and an interest in optical il-
lusions, science, and religion. His apparently
"Lobster Telephone, black and red," multi-media (1936). Trustees of the Edward James
Foundation, Chichester, West Sussex.
contradictory allegiances include a revival of
epic scale history painting and lechnological
inventions such as holograms, as well as a
complex relationship with the CaUntlic
Church. In paintings such as "Tlie Madonna
of Port-Lligat (first version)" (1949) and "Cru-
cifixion (Corpus Hypercubicus)" (1954). Dalf
aitempied to reconcile Christian iconography
with images of de material iziUion inspired by
the discoveries of particle physics and atomic
energy. He described this new phase of his ;irt
as "Nuclear Mysticism." which led him to ca*-
alc stich monuinenlai works as "The Railway
Station at Perpignan" (1965). The exhibition
fittingly concludes with Dali"s final painting.
"The Swallow's TailSeries on Catastro-
phes'" (1983).
Although often dismissed during his life-
time. Dali's laie work had a strong impact on
emerging artists in the I96()s and 1970s, re-
flected in tJie contemponiry imagery ol' Andy
Warhol. Roy Lichtensiein. Sigm<u' Polkc, and
JelT Koons, "Dalfs enormous impact on con-
temporar>' iui has yet to be fully assessed."
notes Michael Taylor, curator of Mtxiem Art
al the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "His late
work, whieh embraced psychoimalysis. mod-
em science, iuid religious mysticism, redclliied
the boundaries ofiui. ra.shion. and ["Hipular cul-
ture in ways thai we aie only now beginning
to understand."
"Dali" is on view al the Philadelphia Muse-
um of Arttlie only U.S. venue for the exhi-
bitionthrough May 15. *
USA TODAY MAY 2005 41