Salvador Dali is without a doubt one of the most talented, unique artists that ever lived. Seeing his original work displayed in front of me to experience it is something that I have dreamt of for years.
Finally, out of all places, I got to enjoy it in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Salvador Dali Museum Review – What It Is About?
- The Dali Museum Collection has works from his entire career (1904-1989)
- The building where the museum is located was designed by architect Yann Weymouth and is an artwork in itself
- It has a glass bubble known as an enigma, made up of 1,062 pieces of glass as an homage to the dome that adorns Dali’s museum in Spain.
- The Collection includes 96 oil paintings, many original drawings, book works, prints, sculptures, photos, manuscripts, and an extensive archive of documents.
- There is a photo exhibit of his life that is worth visiting to fully get immersed into Dali’s life.
- The Mathematical Garden – It is an environment that allows students to experience the relationship between math and nature. There is also a labyrinth.
- First Floor – here you will find the store, café, theater, and the Raymond James Community Room (a space for conferences).
- Second Floor – This is where scholars of Dali and the Avant-garde will do research in the museum’s extensive library. It is also where the administrative offices are.
- Third Floor – This is where the galleries are.
The Main Reason Salvador Dali Museum Exists
- It was founded due to the works collected by Reynolds and Eleanor Morse.
- In 1942, the Morses visited a traveling Dali retrospective at the Cleveland Museum of Art organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and became fascinated with the artist’s work.
- On April 13, 1943, the Morses met Salvador Dali and his wife Gala in New York initiating a long, rich friendship regularly visiting the Dali’s villa in Port Lligat, Spain.
Who Was Salvador Dali?
- Salvador Dali is one of the most celebrated artists of all time.
- Salvador Dali was born on May 11, 1904 in Figueras Spain.
- Dali spent his childhood and early adolescence in Catalonia.
- In 1925, Dali had his first solo exhibition in Barcelona, and that decade saw his works showcased throughout the world.
- After becoming a prominent figure of the Surrealist movement, he was nearly expelled after a “trial” in 1934 due to differences in political stances.
- In 1939 he was expelled from Surrealism.
- Dali and Gala (his wife) spent the better part of the 1940s in America after fleeing WWII.
- During his stay in the US he teamed up with Alfred Hitchcock to create dream-like sequences for Spellbound and was later hired by Walt Disney to complete the art and storyboards for what would ultimately become the film Destino.
- Salvador Dali went through a classical phase throughout the 1950s. He created nineteen large canvases characterized by meticulously detailed images of religious, historical and scientific themes, or what Dali called “nuclear mysticism.”.
- Gala was always his greatest muse and inspiration and her face is depicted in the majority of his art works.
- In the 60’s he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, one of Spain’s highest distinctions and began work on what would become the Teatro-Museo Dali (The Dali Theatre-Museum).
- In 1984, Dali was severely injured in a house fire at his Pubol castle and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.
- He then moved to Teatro-Museo where he died of heart failure on January 23, 1989 at the age of 84.
- In 1990, his estate was split between Madrid and Catalonia, and many prominent exhibitions of the artist’s work continued to show throughout the world.
Information for Visiting Salvador Dali Museum
Phone: 727.823.3767
Address: One Dali Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL
Prices
- General Admission (18-64 years old) $24
- Seniors (65+) $22
- Students (13-17 years old) $17
- Children: (6-12 years old) $10
- Children: 5 and younger FREE
