Salvador Dali 24/7

 Dali on paper 'I just can't part with these!' Every collector has certain items he or she finds especially interesting or appealing. Sometimes we don't really know why. We just know we love 'em and can't part with 'em! 😏   Here are just two from my Dali Memorabilia collection I'm especially fond of . . .     The print version of Beyond magazine, published twice annually by New York's St. Regis Hotel, is rare. You can find it easily enough online, but hard copies of this high-quality publication are very hard to come by. (I actually know of no other Dali enthusiast in my circle of friends and colleagues who has a copy.)   There's something so much more satisfying to me to have a traditional print issue vs. a digital impression of this glossy magazine, which features a multi-page photo-feature on Dali in Manhattan. The Maestro and Gala, of course, resided at the opulent St. Regis for decades during the winter season.       I've also always lo...

 A Case of Mistaken Identity The Dali painting commonly referred to as "Celestial Ride" -- and which authorities have called "Sports" as part of the Billy Rose Seven Lively Arts series of Dali paintings -- is actually Dali's newer version of the original painting called "Radio." Let me try to briefly explain . . . In 1944 Dali was commissioned by Broadway impresario Billy Rose to paint his vision of the Seven Lively Arts for Rose's revue at his Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. One of the works was titled "Radio," and this is what it looked like, shown here in Rose's Mt. Kisco, N.Y. estate:  After being on display at the theater for 10 years, the seven fantastic canvases were moved to Rose's mansion, but were destroyed in a tragic fire there. With the insurance money, Rose paid Dali to re-paint the 7-piece series -- but now it was 12 years later. When it came to re-painting "radio" as a lively art, it was realized that ...

  I don't recall ever seeing these photos, which are being used here solely for blogging/journalistic purposes for the edification of serious Dali aficionados. One shot is Dali with Fleur Cowles, who penned The Case of Dali -- a most interesting biography fecund with informational tidbits. How completely accurate that information is may be debatable, but it's always been a good read with an enormous amount of details about Dali's life. Here are the photos . . .

  Salvador Dali Rebuked Me...Gently. When I first met Salvador Dali in 1973, in the King Cole Bar of the beautiful St. Regis Hotel in New York City, where Dali and Gala wintered, I asked him if I could take his picture. He eagerly consented, stood up, and walked over to another table. Dali sat down and closed his eyes. I promptly snapped the picture (it was a very dark room and my shot was available-light only; no flash, making it underexposed). But Dali opened his eyes and rebuked me: "No, no! Dali ees not ready yet!" He was obviously preparing himself for that signature wide-eyed look we so typically saw on him. I had no idea, of course, that that was his intention, so I snapped the photo you see here: eyes wide shut. We never did do a (proper) second take . . .

 My life's most memorable experience! Brevity will inform all my posts; this one is no exception. What was it like meeting Salvador Dali? This is nearly impossible to capture in the written word. If I were talking to you, you'd get a far better sense of how I felt about it. Simply put, it was the single most memorable moment of my life. Yes, even including my marriage and the birth of my daughters. I'm not saying it was more important than the others, but definitely the most memorable. I'm trusting true Dali aficionados can understand what I'm saying here. I found Dali affable, comedic, commanding, polite, talkative and absolutely submissive in the presence of Gala, who had briefly darted into the St. Regis Hotel King Cole lounge where a group of us was seated. The couple spoke in hushed tones, huddled together, and then Gala departed like a disappearing shadow. Dali's walking stick, regalia, mustache, and larger than life presence were all in fine fettle. Here...