Surreal
The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dali
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
'In Michèle Gerber Klein's new biography, Surreal, Gala Dalí gets her due . . . one thing is certain: Whatever else, she was a woman who knew her own worth' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Michèle Gerber Klein's biography of Gala Dali is proof she was far more than just a muse . . . the book is peppered with vivid vignettes and arresting images' TELEGRAPH
'A revealing biography of the incredibly influential but often overlooked Gala Dalí' TOWN & COUNTRY
Surreal tells the riveting story of Gala Dalí (1894-1982) who broke away from the her cultured but penurious background in pre-Revolutionary Russia to live in Paris with both France's most famous poet, Paul Éluard, and artist Max Ernst. By the time she met the budding artist Salvador Dali in 1929, Gala was known as the Mother of Surrealism. She rapidly became his mentor and protector, marrying him in 1934 and subsequently engineering their vast fortune. At a time when artists were celebrities, Gala acted as the ambassador of the Surrealist movement, spreading its popularity across the globe.
Gala was a heroine whose originality captivated people wherever she went, and her life story has everything : glamour; drama; passion; ambition; money; art; defiance and daring. In this vivid, detailed rendering, Michèle Gerber Klein has brought Gala out of the shadows to reveal a charismatic figure who played a pivotal role in the art world, yet has never received the full recognition she deserves.
'Michèle Gerber Klein - at long last - gives Gala Dalí the close-up she deserves . . . Pour a stiff Pernod or Absinthe, kick back, and enjoy this delightfully sparking read' BRAD GOOCH, author of Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring
'Gerber Klein's exquisitely portrayed and wickedly amusing account is a romp through the annals and escapades of an avant-garde movement that profoundly informs artistic discourse today' ADAM D WEINBERG, Director Emeritus, Whitney Museum of American Art
'Brilliant . . . Original, engaging, and fiercely intelligent, Gala Dalí has at last inspired a biography that shares her own best qualities' CAROLINE WEBER, author of Proust's Duchess and Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
'Echoing her subject's vim, at a fast clip that never lags and often surprises, Michèle Gerber Klein shows how Gala Dalí put the 'extra' in her extraordinary, century-defining life' PRUDENCE PEIFFER, author of The Slip and Director of Content at MoMA, New York
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Klein (Charles James) paints a textured, comprehensive portrait of the "mother of Surrealism." Born in Russia on an unknown day in a disputed year (either 1890 or 1894), Gala Dalí (née Diakonova) grew up a curious but sickly child in a volatile family. She began to hone her artistic eye in 1912 after a nebulous collection of symptoms led to a stay in the Swiss sanatarium where she met, mentored, and edited the writings of Eugène Émile Paul Grindel, who later published as Paul Éluard—a pioneer of the surrealism movement and eventually her first husband. Their marriage began to crumble in 1929 after Gala entered into an affair with Salvador Dalí, whom she married in 1934. She quickly became deeply enmeshed in Dalí's career, from negotiating contracts and payments to serving as an unofficial "life coach" (her influence on his work was so profound that after 1930 he signed many of his paintings with both their names). Klein depicts her subject as an intuitive, dynamic force who harnessed her good taste and keen eye to "spot promise and coax it into bloom." The author also provides an intriguing look into the growth of the Surrealist movement and the unseen power dynamics that underlie how art gets made and who gets credit. Enriched by a novelist's flair for detail, it's a worthy tribute to an enigmatic figure in art history.
