What’s not to love . . .

Dali once said that the only difference between him and a madman, is that he is not mad.  To call him eccentric is a gross understatement.

A product of Spain, Dali was born in the village of Figueres in 1904.  Anything gilded or excessive he loved.  He preferred spending time with other artists as opposed to school, and was expelled from the Academia in 1926, shortly before his final exams, when he stated that no one on the faculty was competent enough to examine him.

Though his work routinely achieved critical acclaim, Dali was often at odds with his fellow artist due to his controversial and often presumed political positions, along with his penchant for luxury and material gain.

There is no evidence of an affinity for men.  If he had one he would have denied it.

The great love of Dali’s life was his wife, Gala.  They began living together in 1929 and were married in 1934, a marriage that endured until 1982 when Gala died, at which time Dali lost much of his will to live.

It has been said that, when he had a falling out with his father, Dali handed him a condom that contained his own sperm and said:  “Here, I now owe you nothing.”

On January 23, 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, he died of heart failure in Figueres at the age of 84

His work, comprised of extraordinary imagination, sensuality and magnificent color, defines surrealism like no other artist ever has.

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