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Chronology
1904 Born Salvador Dalí i Doménech on May 11 in Figueras, Spain. His artistic talent is evident at a very early age.
1910 Dalí completes his first painting, Paisage. It is a landscape from his boyhood home Figueras, Spain.
1918 Dali’s work is exhibited in Figueras. His work is positively reviewed by many critics.
1919 In a journal entry, the fifteen-year-old writes, "I’ll be a genius and the world will admire me."
1921 Dalí’s mother dies.
1922 He is accepted to study at the San Fernando Academy of Art in Madrid, where he befriends Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel. He reads Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, whose theories will have tremendous influence on Dalí’s works for years to come.
1923 Dalí is suspended from the Academy for one year, allegedly for refusing to conform to any regimental standards, either artistic or political.
1924 Dalí is imprisoned for thirty-five days in Gerona, for political reasons.
1925 Lorca spends his holidays in Cadequés with Dalí’s family. He writes his tribute to Dalí, "Ode to Salvador Dalí." Dali has his first solo exhibition at the Dalmau gallery in Barcelona.
1926 In April, he travels to Paris for the first time (with his aunt and sister Ana María) where he meets Picasso. In October, Dalí is expelled from the Academy for refusing to take an exam on the Theory of Fine Art, citing that his professors could not competently grade him. Dalí paints the Basket of Bread, in photorealist detail.
1929 Dalí travels, once again to Paris, where he meets other well-established Surrealists such as Joan Miró, and Paul Eluard. Bruñel and Dalí produce the film Un Chien Andalou. Although many are shocked by the graphic nature of the film, André Breton proclaims it to be the "first Surrealist film." Dalí is now seen as one of the Parisian Surrealists. He begins seeing Eluard’s wife Helena Ivanovna Diakonova (nicknamed Gala), which leads to strained relations with his father. Gala becomes his girlfriend and his muse.
1930 Dalí’s "paranoiac-critical activity" methodology begins to be seen in his work. The Lugubrious Game is displayed in a one-man show. Dalí calls it a "terror picture" as it’s theme is castration. Dalí purchases a cottage in Port Lligat, where he and Gala begin to spend a great deal of time.
1931 While in Port Lligat, Dalí creates the masterpiece Persistence of Memory. His reputation as a Surrealist Painter is solidified.
1932 A group of twelve benefactors- The Zodiac Group, begins to "sponsor" Dalí. Each member sponsors Dali for one month of the year. The Persistence of Memory is exhibited at the Julien Levy Gallery.
1934 The Enigma of William Tell - a painting where an image of Lenin is used in a "mocking fashion" is exhibited. This leads to a rift with the Surrealists. André Breton votes to expel him, however others disagree as they recognize his value in bringing attention to the movement. Dali and Gala are married in a civil ceremony in Paris, on January 30.
1936 The Spanish Civil War begins, and Dali and Gala seek exile in Paris. The house in Port Lligat is destroyed. From Paris they travel to Italy to stay with fashion designer Coco Chanel. Dalí is pictured on the cover of Time magazine in December. He paints Soft Construction with Boiled Beans-Premonition of Civil War.
1937 Dalí meets the Marx Brothers and later writes a screenplay for them. He paints the Metamorphosis of Narcissus, which is executed entirely using the "paranoiac-critical activity" method. The Surrealists take grave exception with his comments regarding Hitler. He designs couture for fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, as well as store windows for exclusive retailers such as Bonwit–Teller in New York. Mrs. Edna Woolman Chase, Editor of Vogue Magazine, commissions the original painting of our lithograph Surrealist Flower.
1938 Dalí meets Freud at his home in London, and renders several drawings of the famous psychiatrist.
1939 Bacchanale, a ballet with set and libretto designed by Dalí, premieres at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. André Breton anagrammatically nicknames Dalí "Avida Dollars", meaning "eager for dollars." His break with the Surrealists is now final. Dalí creates a pavilion for the World’s Fair using the theme "The Dream of Venus". The Fair’s organizers refuse to allow Dalí to erect a replica of Boticelli’s Venus with a "fish head". Dalí retaliates by publishing the pamphlet Declaration of the Independence of the Imagination and the Rights of Man to His Own Madness.
1940 Due to the onset of World War II, Dalí and Gala return to the United States after a brief stay in Paris. They remain in exile for the next eight years. Their first stop is Hampton Manor, the Fredericksburg estate of Caresse Crosby, one of the Zodiac patrons. Once they return to New York, they stay at the St. Regis Hotel, which is known today as a Dalí landmark.
1941 Dalí writes The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, and has his first museum retrospective (along with his fellow countryman Miró) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The show runs from November of 1941 to January of 1942, and is a fantastic success. Dalí creates the famous Soft Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon using a methodology which is opposite the paranoiac-critical activity method. He called it an "anti-psychological self-portrait." He said that instead of painting the soul, "I painted the exterior, the shell, the glove of myself." Dalí paints Ruin with Head of Medusa and Landscape, the original of our lithograph Invisible Face. The painting is dedicated to Mrs. Edna Woolman Chase.
1942 The Secret Life of Dalí is published by the Dial Press in New York. He designs for Helena Rubenstein’s apartment. He does regular work for Town & Country, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. He produces new ballets, designing the costumes and sets himself. One such play was El Café de Chinitas, by his childhood friend Lorca.
1943 Dalí paints the controversial Poetry of America-The Cosmic Athletes. With this image, he becomes the first artist to paint a Coca-Cola bottle as he depicts his acquaintance with American society, complete with commentary on the issue of racism in the United States. Cleveland art collectors, A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, make their first Dalí purchase, Evening-Hope. Dalí designs his first jewelry collection for the Duke de Verdura.
1944 Dalí designs the set and costumes for the ballet Tristan Insane, performed by Ballet International. He calls it the "first ballet based on the eternal myth of love unto death." Dalí returns to his more classical style in painting the image of his wife in Galarina. Upon analysis, her arms in the painting resemble the rim of a bread basket as in the 1926 piece, Basket of Bread. Gala had become Dali’s bread basket. Dali’s novel Hidden Faces is published.
1945 Dalí paints Basket of Bread-Rather Death than Shame. He claims that he is attempting to recover the lost techniques of the old masters. Upon comparing it with the Basket of Bread piece from 1926, one sees the entire history and progression of the painting.
1946 Dalí paints the famous Temptation of St. Anthony as he enters a period where he develops his "mystical-corpuscular" style. He works with Walt Disney on a cartoon film project called Destino. The film’s intent was to integrate cartoon characters and real actors. Unfortunately, the project was never completed. Alfred Hitchcock turns to Dalí for the design of the Freudian dream sequence in the film Spellbound. Hitchcock said, "no one is as imaginative and extravagant as Dalí."
1948 The 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship is published in the United States.
1949 Dalí and Gala return to Europe. Dalí paints The Madonna of Port Lligat, in which he incorporates his new interests in Catholicism and nuclear physics. Dalí is granted an audience with Pope Pius XII on November 23. He shows him a smaller version of The Madonna of Port Lligat.
1950 Dali’s father dies on September 21. The Temptation of St. Anthony is exhibited at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.
1951 This marks the beginning of Dali’s particle period. Dalí publishes his "Mystical Manifesto" to explain his nuclear mysticism. Dalí illustrates Cervantes’ The Divine Comedy.
1952 Dalí creates the originals for two of our lithographs, Equestrian Molecular Figure (Spectral Horse) and Dynamiques Raphaelesque (Disintegrating Mother & Child). This year also produced the famous image, Madonna in Particles. All three pieces were done in Dali’s corpuscular style, during his period of nuclear mysticism. Gala’s ex-husband dies in France.
1954 Dalí and the photographer Robert Descharnes create the film titled L’histoire prodigieuse de la dentellière et du rhinoceros. Dalí bursts from a "metaphysical cube" during a press conference in Rome. He was symbolizing his rebirth.
1956 The master showman fires a bullet which is filled with lithographic ink, thereby dawning the age of "bulletism". He continues to entice and shock throngs of fans, and is constantly in the spotlight.
1957 Dalí publishes the book Dalí on Modern Art, in which he is outspoken and critical of other artists and their work.
1958 Work begins on The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, a historical painting. The image pays homage to Velázquez. Dalí and Gala are married in Spain in a religious ceremony.
1960 Dalí shows his artistic versatility in his creation of a series of images titled The Ecumenical Council, and the phenomenal particle drawing St. Anne and St. John. Our lithograph, Cascade of Souls, is after an original from this period.
1961 The Ballet of Gala premieres in Venice. Dalí designed the libretto and set.
1962 Robert Descharnes publishes Dalí de Gala. This book describes how Gala was not only Dali’s wife and muse, but also his mother and sister. She also managed his business affairs.
1963 Dalí publishes The Tragic Myth of Millet’s Angelus. He paints Portrait of My Dead Brother with the illuminated look of "pop art".
1964 Dalí writes a second autobiography, The Diary of a Genius. The book explains his interest in "nuclear mysticism" and the symbolism behind his recurring rhinoceros horn imagery. His first monumental retrospective is held in the Seibu Museum in Tokyo. During the 1960’s, Dalí is embraced by a roving group of followers and friends known as the "Court of Miracles." Gala expresses that she wants to live in a castle, and Dalí purchases Castle Pubol in Spain. Gala later moves into the castle and lives there throughout the 70’s. Dalí is awarded "The Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic"- one of Spain’s highest honors.
1966 The original for our lithograph Don Quixote on an Infinite Landscape is created. It was a mixed-media etching.
1967-1970 The immense paintings Tuna Fishing (1967) and Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968-1970) are created. These paintings are extremely significant in the legacy of Dali’s art, along with the Persistence of Memory (1931). Dalí said of Tuna Fishing, "it is the most ambitious picture I have ever painted." The Hallucinogenic Toreador marks his return to the use of his paranoiac-critical method. Dalí got the idea for the "double- imaged" painting for the image after seeing a hidden dual image on a box of ‘Venus’ pencils in a art supply store. It was Dali’s last large scale, major work.
1971 The Morses open their collection to the public in Cleveland. The collection is later relocated to the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1982. This Dalí collection is one of the finest in the world.
1972 Dali’s first holograms are exhibited at the Knoedler Gallery in New York. Dalí was quoted as saying, "Holography is opening the third dimension for the artist." Dalí begins to draw attention from rock stars & pop artists including John Lennon and Andy Warhol.
1973 The documentary Hello Dalí is filmed in Port Lligat.
1974 Dali’s Theater-Museum (Teatro Museo) opens in Figueras. This theatre contains the broadest range of his works. It was designed by Dalí in order to offer visitors a vivid adventure into his unique world. The Academie Française accepts Dalí, and he continues to win awards around the world.
1976 Dalí paints two versions of the famous Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Metres Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln- Homage to Rothko.
1978 The original watercolor from which our lithograph Surrealist Matador was made is painted. Dalí creates several works experimenting with stereoscopic techniques, many of which go unfinished.
1979 The French hold a major retrospective at The Centre Georges Pompidou. The exhibit is later moved to London’s Tate Gallery. Diamond Head and Diamond Head II (our lithograph The Mystery of Diamond Head) are created. Diamond Head is published as a lithograph by Levine and Levine in 1980.
1980 Dalí, always obsessed with the prospect of death, began to wait for immortality. He creates the images from our Don Quixote Trilogy (published in 2000) during this period. It is thought that he was depicting himself as an aging Don Quixote. They were created along with 23 other original etchings titled Histoire de Don Quichotte de la Mancha. Only 15 were published as lithographs in 1980.
1982 Gala dies quite unexpectedly at the age of eight-eight, and is buried at Castle Pubol. Dalí moves into the castle. Distraught over Gala’s death, he attempts suicide by dehydration, believing that this would render him to a state of immortality.
1983 The perfume "Dalí" is created. Dalí paints The Swallow’s Tail, his last picture. He creates the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation. This institution is to manage, protect and promote his artistic and intellectual legacy.
1984 Frail, tube-fed and with overall failing health, Dalí is severely burned when his bed catches on fire. Photographer and friend Robert Descharnes was in the house and saved his life.
1985- 1989 In spite of his health, Dalí stays involved with projects that are important to him. He spends the last years of his life in the Torre Galatea house in Figueras near the Dalí Theatre-Museum, where he succumbs to heart failure on January 23. According to his wishes, he is buried in a crypt in the Theatre-Museum in Figueras. He leaves his fortune ($130 million) and all of his works to the Spanish state.
To the present… Dali’s work continues to intellectually tantalize, amaze, shock and dare us to explore our thoughts. "It is perhaps with Dalí that for the first time the windows of the mind are opened fully wide." ----Paul Eluard, Surrealist Poet
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