Hispanic Heritage Month

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was born on May 11th, 1904 in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dali was beast known for being a skilled draftsman, and for his surrealist artwork. Dali grew up in a middle-class family which his father was a lawyer and notary. Once Salvador was five years old he was taken to his brother's grave site. His parents made him believe that he was a reincarnation of his brother. In the year 1916 Dali became interested in modern painting on a vacation to Cadaqués, Spain. The following year Dali's father would put together an organized exhibition of Dali's charcoal paintings in their home. Dali's first public exhibition was at the Municipal Theatre in Figures in 1919. In the year 1922 Dali moved to Students Residence in Madrid where he studied at the Academy of San Fernando which was a school of fine arts. Dali began to draw a lot of attention because he wore long hair and sideburns, stockings, and knee breeches. In 1924, while Dali was still unknown, he illustrated a book for his first time. His mastery in his painting skills became known by his realistic "Basket of Bread" painting in 1926. In the same year he made his first trip to Paris where he met with famous painter Pablo Picasso whom Dali revered. Over the next few years Dali made a large amount of work based on the influence of Picasso. Some of Picassos' famous work of art include:

• The Three Sphinxes of Bikini, 1947

• The Great Masturbator, 1929

• The Persistence of Memory, 1931

• The Ghost of Vermeer, 1934

• Premonition of Civil War, 1936

• Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee, 1944

• The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, 1952