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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vicki Rosenzweig (talk | contribs) at 18:28, 20 February 2002 (wikified; got out of historical present; some other copyediting (this is still only a sketch of Dali's life and work)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain.

He attended Municipal Drawing School, where he first received formal art training. In 1916 Dalí discovered modern painting on a summer vacation with the Pichot family. The next year Dali's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theater in Figueres in 1919.

He moved to Madrid, where he studied at the Academy of Arts (Academia de San Fernando) from which he was expelled in 1926 because of conflicts with his teachers. (He stated that the faculty was not competent enough to examine him.)

1929 was an important year for Dalí. He collaborated with Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel on the short film Un Chein Andalou; met his muse and future wife, Gala Aluard; had his first professional exhibition; and joined the Surrealist group in Paris.

In 1931, Dalí painted The Persistence of Memory.

In 1936, he painted Autumn Cannibalism and Soft Construction with Beans Premonition of Civil War.

In 1939, he was expelled from the Surrealist group for political reasons.

In 1940, Dalí and Aluard moved to America, where they lived for eight years.

In 1949, he painted Leda Atomica and The Madonna of Port Lligat, and returned to Europe.

In 1951, he painted Christ of St. John of the Cross and Exploding Rephaelesque Head.

In 1958, Dalí and Aluard married.

In 1959, Dalí painted The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

In 1976, he painted Gala Contemplating the Sea.

In 1983, he completed his final painting, The Swallow's Tail.

He died on January 23, 1989.