May 11, 2018

“There are some days that I think I will die out of an overdose of satisfaction” – Salvador Dali.

This iconic surrealist artist, writer, scientist, jewelry designer, a true showman, enjoyed being known for his bizarre, creative and eccentric personality traits wherever he would go! Today, in honor of Salvador Dali’s birthday, Gallery Art is sharing with you part of his life and legacy to the fine art world!

Here are 5 Fun Facts About Salvador Dali:

1. He believed he was the reincarnation of his brother – Before Dali was born, his mother gave birth to another child, also called Salvador Dali, who passed away at 22 months old. When Dali was 5 years old, his parents informed him of their belief that he was the reincarnation of his brother. 

2. Called “Avida Dollars” (avaricious) within the art community – Dali was renowned for his love of making money. For instance, Dali had a novel way of avoiding restaurant bills. He frequently invited large groups of friends out for expensive lunches. When it came time to pay, Dali would cheerfully write a check for the full amount. Why cheerfully? Because he knew the waiter would be looking, moment when he would casually doodle on the back of the check, knowing that nobody in their right mind would ever cash a check with an original sketch by Salvador Dali on it! So the check would go uncashed, and Dali would get away with not paying the bill. 

Salvador Dali – DIAMOND HEAD – 29.52 x 22.05 inches

Salvador Dali – JEREMIAH – 26 x 19.8 inches

Salvador Dali – DALINEAN PROPHECY – 22.25 x 30.25 inches

Salvador Dali – MUSEUM OF GENIUS AND WHIM – 26 x 19 inches

Salvador Dali – THE EARTH GODDESS (THE CHEF) – 29.13 x 21.06 inches

Salvador Dali – LE MONTRE MOLLES – 21 x 25 inches

A Salvador Dali’s compilation showing 10 of his surrealist pieces available at Gallery Art. For more details, email INFO@GALLART.COM or call 305.932.6166. Mention CODE #DCGALLART to receive 20% OFF on your order.

3. Stunt man – Aside from being an artist, writer, scientist, and whatever he decided to be when he woke up in the morning, Dali was a showman! For example, in 1955, he arrived at a speech in a Rolls-Royce full of cauliflowers because he was fascinated by their shape. 

4. Dali’s Inspiration – His artistic experimentation culminated in what became known as Surrealism. Dali manifested characters and settings in subconscious realities inspired by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories. Dali had a rare gift in decoding images from his dreams and inserting them in places that could exist in the real world, leaving viewers confused but ever more intrigued!

5. Salvador Dali’s Foundation & Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida – After a business partnership separation, Dali lost rights to a majority of his works and much of his wealth, consequently, his wife founded “Friends of Dali” and “The Salvador Dali Museum”, in St. Petersburg, Florida to raise money. To date, his most expensive painting sold is also the most expensive Surrealist work of art in the world: the $22.4M “Portrait de Paul Eluard”, featuring his friend and Surrealist poet Paul Eluard. Additionally, Salvador Dali designed a collection of 39 pieces of jewelry, with “The Royal Heart”, as its central piece, being later sold to the Dali Foundation for 5.5M euros (nearly $7M in 1999). He had lots of famous friends he liked hanging out with too, including Elvis Presley, John Lennon, David Bowie, Pablo Picasso, Alice Cooper and even Sigmund Freud. 

Surely, Salvador Dali accomplished more than his most heartfelt desire of being remembered by the people he met; he not only left a huge legacy to those that knew him personally, but to all the generations to come! Happy Birthday to Salvador Dali!

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