The Persistence of Memory: A Biography of Dali - Softcover

Etherington-Smith, Meredith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306806622 ISBN 13: 9780306806629

Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc, 1995

Synopsis

Surrealist painter, author, filmmaker, lecturer, performance artist, charlatan, genius, clown, Salvador Dali (1904-1989) once asked himself, "Where does the deep and philosophical Dali begin, and where does the loony and preposterous Dali end?" This evenhanded but exacting biography, based on interviews, unpublished letters, and previously unavailable archives, explores the relationship between his eccentric life and the hallucinatory imagery of the paintings that, like the soft watches, have become twentieth-century icons. The author penetrates the artist's self-mythologizing facade to reveal the man behind the outrageous mustache and cryptic canvasses: his Catalan childhood; his relationships with Garcia Lorca, Bunuel, Breton, Picasso, Miro, de Chirico, Man Ray, Ernst, and Eluard; Dali's fixations, phobias, and Surrealist pranks; and his bizarre marriage to Gala--muse, business manager, nymphomaniac, gold digger, and finally tormentor. With reproductions of sixteen Dali paintings, The Persistence of Memory offers an unrivaled tour of the absurd and haunting landscape of Dali's life.

About this title

About the Author

Meredith Etherington-Smith is the author of a biography of Jean Patou, the European editor of Town & Country, and the editor of Christie's International Magazine.

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306806622
• ISBN 13: 9780306806629
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 510