The Salvador Dali Controversy is for the most part, created by those that want to get their name in the news. For centuries, those with talent, have had to put up with those that have no talent, and could only latch on to the career or legend of a master.
Salvador Dali worked in a studio in Spain and if you study the photographs of Dali hand working on limited edition works and original paintings, you will not see any assistants or tricks of any kind, you only see an artist at work.
Much like Chagall, Miro, Rembrandt, Renoir, Warhol and others, Salvador Dali was involved in the making of limited edition works. Many of Dali's limited edition works were hand colored or hand worked by Dali himself. The bulk of Dali's works, were created, purchased and then wound up in a museum or private collection, No Controversy.
The issue of un-authorized works popped up in the news in a big way in the 1980's. Salvador Dali stopped working in 1979, 1980, so it stands to reason he was not involved in any un-authorized works, and if he was involved then they would be authorized works. This is not rocket science. So much the same as the works of Chagall, Dali works were copied or printed by those that were only interested in making a buck and had no concern for the good name of the artist. Do we pull Rembrandt's works from the museums because there are a few fakes out there? Of course not. So why should we treat Dali any different? The practice of creating posters, giclees and other Low End Art has been going on for many years and is referred to as the Decorative Art Market.
The investment art market consists of works that were hand created or hand worked by the artist himself or works that were printed with permission under contract and then hand signed by the artist. In some cases as with Renoir limited edition, the signature is referred to as "signed in the stone" but is accepted because once again, it was authorized by the artist. In addition, as with Picasso, there are works that were authorized by the estate. While these works do not fetch the high dollars, they are still referred to as authentic prints because a relative of the artist controlled the project and then signed the prints. Many of us in the business that sell pencil signed works, do not sell works signed by a relative as it will not accrue value in the same way as a work that the artist himself was involved in.
As for Salvador Dali works that are not correct, we have to look to the Salvador Dali archives for answers. Albert Field spent many years of his life examining, photographing and archiving limited edition works by Dali. The photograph above shows Dali and Albert Field together as they discuss works by Dali. Albert Filed was not someone that had an opinion about Dali's works and then wrote a book about his opinion, he was someone that did countless hours of homework and then met with the artist himself to get first hand information. There are many in the industry that refer to themselves and Dali experts, but they did not sit down with Dali himself and discuss works in detail, and they have never talked to Albert Field or any of the key players in the Dali world. I myself talked to Albert Filed on many occasions and I also spoke to a number of Dali publishers and relatives of Dali's publishers and the information I learned from them, is the information I rely on as a Dali expert. It means nothing to have a certificate as an art appraiser or authenticator if you have not done your homework and spent the many hours it takes to talk to or write to the correct people. I have also learned a great deal by selling works by Dali for the past 15 years. I estimate that in the past 15 years, I have sold approx 8,000 Dali works. I'd have to count each invoice to be sure. The importance of this is that each work has to be examined for proper watermarks and details to determine it's authenticity. In addition, the owner of the Salvador Dali Society, Joe Nuzzolo also examines the works, and they are then sent to a known Dali authenticator and a known Dali appraiser for further examination. All must agree the work is correct. This is a far cry from a gallery owner examining a print and then saying, "yep, it's authentic" and then creating a certificate of authenticity on his or her computer.
The important thing to remember when looking at Dali is that the artist began working at a young age and worked until he was 76 years old. There was little or no controversy during this period. The few instances of Dali works being copied without permission were quickly stopped by the French police and others in Europe. It was in the 1980's in Hawaii that un-authorized works appeared on the market, and those were in the News very quickly and once the story was out, we all knew what works to avoid. So where is the controversy? Once again, you have to consider the source. Like any other industry, you will always find those that are only interested in themselves and do not have any concern for following the rules or laws. Avoid those people and focus on those that are enthusiastic about what they do for a living and who want to preserve the good name of the industry they work in. We have all heard the stories about the Real Estate Market, does that mean we will stop buying property all together? NO. The same applies to the art market. Find works that have been verified by more than one expert. Try to negotiate the best price and then, enjoy building your collection. The idea is to enjoy what you are doing, and the job of a good art consultant is to make sure you can do this with no worry. All comments are welcome: EMAIL
