New Salvador Dali Museum opens
Posted By aidan on April 27, 2011
Dali enthusiasts may be interested to know that earlier this year St. Petersburg, Florida saw the opening of a museum dedicated to his life and works. The new model is more than twice the size of its predecessor and offers the most extensive collection of Dali’s work outside of his native Spain – his hometown of Figueras boasts a world-renowned museum that was designed by the artist himself.
The new museum is much better protected from the elements and is now able to withstand a grade 5 hurricane and large scale flooding. This is necessary given the fact that it is now home to 96 of Dali’s oil paintings, including 7 of his 18 masterworks such as ‘The Hallucinogenic Toreador’ and ‘The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus’. However, Dali was not confined to working in one particular style or media and the museum holds a further 2000 artworks which range from the likes of graphics, prints and drawings to watercolours, photographs and sculptures. Work from every stage of Dali’s career is represented and a huge archival library, which currently holds over 5000 books, is also incorporated into the main site.
The chief contributors to this fabulous art collection were Albert Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, a couple from Ohio who purchased their first piece of Dali’s work in 1942. Fascinated by his ideas, they continued to collect his work prolifically and later became both patrons and friends to the artist and his wife Gala, who moved to America in the 1940s in an attempt to escape the war.
Officially opened on January 11th 2011, the Floridian museum cost $36 million to build and after its original conception was 14 years in the making. Enormous in scope, the museum’s most significant architectural detail comes in the form of a magnificent wave of glass panelling that undulates around the building. This feature is a tribute to the Mediterranean Sea that Dali was so fond of and its design came from the architect Yann Weymouth, who helped to devise the famous glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. There is also an awesome 75ft high, double helix staircase, which reflects Dali’s fascination with science – a theme that in later years came to have a profound influence on his work.
With over 100, 000 visitors in the first three months it seems that this new museum is set to be a roaring success. Attendance numbers prove that interest in the fascinating figure of Salvador Dali is still very much alive and continues to grow, which is great news for anyone who has the opportunity to invest in his work. As more and more pieces are taken up by museums those that remain on the market will become increasingly few and far between. So, for those who seek to establish a collection, you would be advised to move quickly.
If you are interested in Dali’s work, come and speak with us here at The Meller Merceux Gallery, about having a Salvador Dali in your collection – 01865 727996 / 01993 708606
The museum is nice, well worth the visit. We were there on 11-11-11 at 11AM
[Reply]