FRANCE: Unique collection of works by Salvador Dali goes on show in Paris

Record ID: 786459

  • Title: FRANCE: Unique collection of works by Salvador Dali goes on show in Paris
  • Date: 9th February 2012
  • Summary: PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING DALI AND SABATER
  • Embargoed: 24th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA1O1P5JY71MAIFR6Y6AIZDWYV6
  • Story Text: A unique collection of 120 rarely seen works of art by Salvador Dali went on display in Paris on Thursday (February 8), as part of an ensemble of works dedicated to the Spanish artist's friend and secretary for 12 years, Enrique Sabater.
    The collection includes oils, watercolours, sketches, and photographs that bear witness to the friendship between the two men.
    In an interview with Reuters Television, Sabater described the creative passion bordering on eccentricity that marked the man he went to interview as a journalist and with whom he formed an immediate friendship.
    "He was looking for the exact situation he wanted and once he had found it, I 'clicked', taking the picture, and enlarged the photo, and he used to stick it next to the canvas, and then he could continue his work to finish his painting," said Sabater.
    There were occassions when Dali's requests were simply impossible he said.
    "Sometimes at noon he could ask to obtain an elephant at 5 PM, so he was really doing incredible things. Everyday was a surprise. There was one surprise per day and it was great. I have had the opportunity to live some marvellous years," said Sabater.
    Sabater also believes that the exhibition shows a side to the artist not many have seen. Often considered egotistical, his friend believes that the works given to Sabater cast Dali in a different light.
    "I like this exhibition taking place at the Dali museum also because it shows that Dali was not a selfish person as many have thought, but someone generous. The proof is the fact all these works exist and that they were dedicated and given to me," he said.
    The works had previously been shown in Latin America, but this is the first show in Europe, Sabater said.
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