Salvador Dalí ~ Rare Prints & Drawings ~ at William Bennett Gallery

Written by Joseph Silas Thursday, 03 November 2011 21:07

New York City - A retrospective two years in the making providing a fresh insight to the lifelong dialogue Salvador Dal í had with Love, Poetry, Religion, Bullfighting and Surrealism. Featuring a selection of original works on paper and Dalí’s rarest graphic portfolios. On exhibition through March 31st, 2009, showing Alice in Wonderland | Paradise Lost | Divine Comedy | The Biblia Sacra | The Hippies | The Tauromachie Surréaliste | Greek Mythology | Carmen | and other selected works at William Bennett Gallery.

Dalí’s incredible illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” have caused it to become one of most sought after Dali suites. With the original gouaches published by Maecenas Press-Random House, New York in 1969, the suite now contains twelve heliogravures - one for each chapter of the book - and comes with one original signed etching in four colors as the frontispiece.  This collaboration brings together two of the most creative minds in Western culture, as both are considered ultimate explorers of dreams and imagination.

Biblia Sacra

Dalí’s Biblia Sacra is the largest issued suite of the Spanish master’s work. The portfolio was commissioned by leading patron Dr. Giuseppe Albaretto, who was determined to redeem what he felt were Dalí’s wayward views and lead him back to the Catholic Church. Subsequently, these exquisite works illustrate Dalí’s renewed ties to Christianity as well as his profound personal spirituality. Six years in the making, the Biblia Sacra contains 105 lithographs. The original illustrations were completed between 1963 and 1964, with a combination of gouache, watercolor, ink, and pastel. Verses from the Old and New Testament accompany each illustration. The illustrations, fertile in both color and content, exemplify Dalí’s range of creativity and artistic process. The wide variety of imagery employed by Dalí incorporates both religious and historical images; some Christian and some based on classical mythology. Additionally, Dalí’s exploration as an artist is evident in his use of “bulletism,” a Dalínian invention where an antique gun was loaded with ink-filled capsules and then fired at blank sheets of paper.

Divine Comedy

In 1953 Salvador Dalí was commissioned by the Italian government to illustrate Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. After nearly a decade, his watercolors were published as a six volume set. The images have become some of Dalí’s most recognizable works and continue to enchant collectors. The journey from hell to purgatory and into paradise has never been more beautifully illustrated and the original woodblock engravings are an important addition to any collector of Dalí or modern art. Dalí himself thought this suite to be one of the most important of his career and is considered by many today to be some of his most notable work.

Tauromachie Surréaliste

Tauromachie Surrealiste is a set of seven hand-signed, hand colored intaglios on Japon paper. Originally a creation of Picasso in 1957, the “Tauiromachia Suite” was Picasso’s proclamation for the love of the bullfight and Spanish culture.  Dalí, in turn, transformed the images of Picasso and married them with his profound symbolism and iconic imagery. With numerous references to Catholicism, the Spanish Court and the controversy of the bullfight, Dalí created a visually stimulating interaction between man, bull and the surreal. Tauromachie Surrealiste on Japon paper is a small edition of only 100 examples on and remains the upper echelon of Dali’s graphic oeuvre.

Paradise Lost

Regarded as one of the most important works in literature, John Milton’s Paradise Lost was illustrated in ten color etchings by master Salvador Dalí in 1974. The simplicity of line and careful draftsmanship exude the very turmoil of man’s battle with the temptation of Satan.  A small edition of 150 was created on Rives paper and is noted as having some of Dalí’s sharpest lines. These hand signed etchings are an important addition for the collector of modern art and connoisseur of the world’s finest literature.

Carmen

As one of the world’s most popular operas, Carmen was illustrated by Salvador Dali in 1970 as a suite of 25 hand signed lithographs. The story is set in Seville, Spain, circa 1830, and concerns the eponymous Carmen, a beautiful Gypsy with a fiery temper. Free with her love, she woos the corporal Don José, an inexperienced soldier. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, mutiny against his superior, turn to a criminal life, and ultimately, out of jealousy, murder of Carmen. Although he is briefly happy with Carmen, he falls into madness when she turns from him to the bullfighter Escamillo.

About William Bennett Gallery

As the newest and largest gallery in New York’s SoHo district, encompassing 5,000 sq ft on two levels, the William Bennett Gallery opened in September 2007 with a premiere collection of twentieth century and contemporary art including one of the largest collections of original Salvador Dali watercolors and illustrations on the East Coast as well as numerous works from Picasso, Miro, and Matisse.  Housed in one of SoHo’s most well-preserved examples of New York City’s 19th century cast-iron architecture, the 120 year old building has served as a bread bakery, industrial machine shop, and now the William Bennett Gallery settles in to foster relationships based on a mutual passion for art. The gallery creates an inviting and scholarly setting for collectors ranging from the novice to art connoisseur and offers a series of informative dialogs to educate new art collectors. Visit www.williambennettgallery.com for more information.