Dali’s secret sculptures

Press, 10 October 1984, Page 19

Dali’s secret sculptures

By

MARTIN BAILEY

in London

A secret collection of Salvador Dali’s last important artistic works is to be unveiled in London next year.

The 80-year-old Spanish surrealist, now seriously ill in a Barcelona hospital, is unlikely to work again.

The existence of the Dali treasure trove consisting of 40 sculptures, had been unknown beyond the small circle of the artist’s close colleagues. Dali is renowned as a painter, and it was only when he reached his 70s that he began to sculpt. Dali’s sculptures are likely to set off a row because of a London bullion dealer’s plans to market replicas in gold. Each set will require nearly 500 pounds of gold and will sell for about ?3 million.

lan Friend, sculpture expert at the Tate Gallery, in London, is one of the few people to have viewed the Dali collection now in the hands of a Spanish dealer named Klott. When he flew out to see them in Barcelona earlier this year, he admits he was astonished by their quality. .

Dali succeeded in transferring the energy of his painting into three dimensions. “Many of them were really very good,” he says.

The sculptures ranging in height from a few centimetres to 60cm reflect many of the surrealist themes from the artist’s paintings. Among the works is a version of “Christ of St John of the Cross,” based on the picture in Glasgow Art- Gallery. Dali has made three-di-

mensional objects since the 19305. These include the famous Lobster-Telephone now in the Tate Gallery, and the Mae West sofa, modelled on the film’s star’s sensuous lips. But Dali expert Reynolds Morse, who has seen the Klott collection, believes they are the only “true sculptures.” Dali created his sculptures by using a special modelling wax which re-

mains pliable when warm. A mould was then made to produce a single set of bronze sculptures. Reynolds Morse says these orignials are likely to be donated to the Dali museum in Florida, which he set up. Controversy is likely over the plan to produce gold replicas because the original moulds have been destroyed and it would be necessary to make new ones from the bronze set. The London bullion-trad-ing firm of Jean Lion is now negotiating with the dealer Klott to produce the replicas. Plans have not yet been completed and Jean Lion is reluctant to go into details, but it is hoped to cast the first gold set within a few months and display it at a London museum next March. A further nine sets would be produced each, priced at about $3 million. From a commercial point of view, the idea is that 500 pounds of gold is more likely to keep its value if cast as- Dali sculptures rather than bullion bars. Copyright — London Observer Service.