Fantastic Beach Scene

1935

Salvador Dalí

Associated Names
Salvador Dalí

Artist, Spanish, 1904 - 1989

This print shows swirling lines and abstract shapes in red on tan paper. Several of the shapes are almost identifiable but have strange features. There are several disembodied arms; one lies on the ground surrounded by bones, another reaches out from a tree, and a third extends from a heart-shaped object that rests on an armchair, supported by a crutch. The hand on the ground and the hand in the tree are each holding different ends of a long object that is propped up by a bone. Across from the armchair is a rocking chair that features curving lines that look like a rib cage surrounded by flowers. There is a billowing clothesline in the background, and a small bird flies overhead. The ground is covered in faint vertical stripes, with one area that appears to be covered in water coming from the base of the armchair. At the bottom of the print are several objects that appear to be an inkwell, an iron, and a mug next to what may be a severed foot, surrounded by small dots.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching in sepia on chine collé on Arches paper

  • Credit Line

    Ruth and Jacob Kainen Memorial Acquisition Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 40.32 × 47.63 cm (15 7/8 × 18 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2017.15.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Michler/Löpsinger 1994, no. 57 (a)


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Edward James (British, 1907-1984), 1935; purchased by (Timothy Baum, New York); Gilbert E. Kaplan (1941-2016), New York ; auctioned by (Christie's, New York, Nov. 1-2, 2016); purchased by (David Tunick, NY), 2016: puchased by NGA , 2017

Associated Names

Bibliography

1994

  • Michler, Ralf and Lutz W. Löpsinger. Salvador Dali: Catalogue Raisonné of Etchings and Mixed-Media Prints 1924-1980. Munich: Prestel, 1994: 57 (a).

2011

  • Schröder, Klaus Albrecht, et al. Surrealismus, The Gilbert Kaplan Print Collection. Exh. cat. Albertina, Vienna, Austria, 2011-12: no. 71.

2017

  • Brodie, Judith. "Gifts and Acquisitions: Salvador Dali, Fantastic Beach Scene" _National Gallery of Art Bulletin 57 (Fall 2017): 23-24, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: A Edward James / Salvador Dalí / 1935; upper center verso in graphite [erased]: Green bead [underlined]

Watermarks

ARCHES

Wikidata ID

Q77259169

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