Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was one of the most unusual artists who ever lived. He was born in Spain in 1904. He painted strange, dreamlike worlds where clocks melt, elephants walk on spider legs, and objects float in the air. His art belongs to a movement called Surrealism, which was inspired by dreams. Dali was also famous for his wild personality and his long, curly mustache.

Painting Dreams

Dali's most famous painting is called The Persistence of Memory. It shows soft, melting clocks draped over rocks and a tree branch. The landscape looks like a strange desert. Dali said he got many of his ideas from dreams and the moment just before falling asleep. He would sometimes doze off holding a key over a metal plate. When the key dropped and made a clang, he would wake up and paint what he saw in his mind.

A Colorful Life

Dali loved attention. He wore a cape, carried a fancy cane, and curled his mustache into long points. He made movies with the filmmaker Luis Bunuel. He designed jewelry, furniture, and even a lollipop wrapper. He built a museum in Spain filled with his art and tricks, like rooms that look like faces when you stand back. Dali wanted to make the whole world as surprising as his paintings.

Fun Facts

• Dali designed the logo for the Chupa Chups lollipop brand, and it is still used today.
• He once arrived at a lecture wearing a deep-sea diving suit and nearly suffocated inside it.
• Dali built a museum in Figueres, Spain, where even the building itself is a work of art covered in giant eggs.

Did You Know?

Salvador Dali's famous curly mustache was so important to him that he waxed it into points every single day!