Artist Spotlight: Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was one of the most iconic painters of the 20th century. His surrealist work was imaginative and striking. He had an eccentric manner that reflected his art and vice versa.

Dali had an affinity for many art styles, from the academic to the avant-garde. His works greatly demonstrate this, combining classic and modernist techniques to create highly realizitc, and traditional paintings.

Dali portrayed bare yet strangely sunlit dream worlds with meticulously painted common objects morphed into bizarre creations. Today, his works are synonymous with Surrealism and continue to inspire admiring artists.

Born: May 11, 1904, Figueres, Spain

Died January 25, 1989, Figueres, Spain

Famous work: The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Facts about Dali

• Attributed with leading the Surrealist movement.
• Best known for his edgy, surreal paintings and his eccentric persona.
• Created cinematic works such as Un Chien Andalou.
• Very active in the photography and fashion worlds, and also created multiple sculptural works during his lifetime.
• Incorporated many recurring symbols in his work, including grasshoppers and ants.
• Worked on creating a cartoon, “Destino”, with Walt Disney in the early 1940s.
• QUOTE: “I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.”
• Illustration by Adam Lunger ’08