The Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí was born on May 11, 1904. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is fortunate to have four paintings for display by this important artist and will be celebrating Dalí’s life and art with four months of activities and a special exhibition. Canada Collects Dalí: The Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Beyond will showcase the four works owned by the Gallery: the monumental Santiago El Grande (1957) and three portraits, La Turbie: Sir James Dunn (1949); Equestrian Fantasy: Lady Dunn (1954) and Sunrise: Sir James Dunn (1958), along with works on paper, textiles and ceramics from the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery owns scrapbooks compiled by Lady Dunn during the 1950s. These will be exhibited as well as other Dalí memorabilia from private collections i.e. books, photos and pictures. Salvador Dalí, Sir James Dunn and Lady Dunn developed a friendship in the late 1940s when the artist (seeing Sir James across the room at a restaurant) asked to be introduced. Dalí went on to paint the portraits of the couple which are permanently displayed at the Gallery and it was this friendship which led to the Gallery acquiring the magnificent Santiago El Grande (measuring 407.7cm x 304.8cm) soon after its creation for the Spanish Pavilion at the Brussels’ World’s Fair in 1958. (Please see the Our Permanent Collection section for more information). Exhibition coordinator for Canada Collects Dalí: The Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Beyond is Rachel Brodie Venart, Collections Manager.

Organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Supported by the City of Fredericton.