Author Description

Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dalí was a controversial painter, sculptor, and filmmaker, as well as a jewelry, furniture, set, and costume designer. This biography highlights Dalí's childhood, education, art lessons and early Impressionist influence from Ramon Pitxot, work and friendship with filmmaker Luis Bunuel and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, exhibitions, married life, support of the Dali Theatre-Museum, and travels to the United States, France, and England, as well as his interest in optical illusions and his later work combining classical themes and modern science. Sidebars, a glossary, an index, and a phonetics section accompany easy-to-read text and full-color reproductions of Dalí's artwork, including Burning Giraffe, Swans Reflecting Elephants, The Persistence of Memory, Galatea of the Spheres, and Mae West's Lips Sofa.