sälväthōrˈ däˈlē, dälēˈ, 1904–89, Spanish surrealist painter. At first influenced by futurism, in 1924 Dalí came under the influence of the Italian painter de Chirico. By 1929 he had become a leader of surrealism. His precise style enhanced the nightmare effect of his paintings. Among his best-known works is Persistence of Memory (1931; Mus. of Modern Art, New York City) with its strangely melting clocks. In 1940 Dalí emigrated to the United States. He wrote The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942). Dalí also made surrealist ventures in films (e.g., Luis Buñuel's Un Chien andalou, 1928), advertising, and the ballet. The Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla., is devoted entirely to his works.

Bibliography

See his diary, ed. by M. Déon (tr. 1965); biographies by I. G. De Liano (1984), R. Rom (1985), M. Etherington-Smith (1993), and I. Gibson (1998); study by C. Lake (1969).

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