Art Lesson #11: Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida

Salvador Dali Museum, Photo by Krenda

Before you even enter the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, you are looking at art.  The 75 foot tall building built in 2011 has a geodesic glass bubble known as the "enigma".  Ask your kids to guess the number of triangles! Answer equals 1,062.  With gardens and a waterfront location on Tampa Bay, it's a nice place to stroll too.  With the long line to enter the museum, I was glad we had architecture and nature to admire.  Entry fee is $25 adults, $10 kids age 6-12.  Time it right for discounted Thursday after 5PM ($12.50 adults, $8 kids).  The evening also gives you a cool interior lighted view.

Go to the third floor for a cool view over the garden and waterfront and admire the helical staircase celebrating spirals too.  While I have a preference from Impressionist art, this museum boasts of having the most Dali masterworks in any one location, 8 of the 18 masterworks.  The museum also impresses you with the breadth of Salvador Dali art with landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and religious paintings.  Totaling over 2,400 works by Dali, you should budget a few hours.  Patricia Schultz's book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die breaks down the articles, "Today the museum's collection encompasses works from every major period of Dali's long career, spanning the years 1917 through 1976 including 95 oil paintings; more than 100 watercolors and drawings, 1,300 sketches, sculptures, photographs and objects d'art: and a large archival library.

The kids surprised me at the amount of attention that they paid to each painting.  I think the Dali app with history stories really helped them understand the significance.  During high school, I studied Dali prior to being an exchange student to Spain.  Dali grew up in Figueras Spain, studied in Barcelona and Madrid, and became the world's best known Surrealist painter.  Surrealists, inspired by Sigmund Freud, explore subconscious images.  They can place common place objects in juxtaposed or deformed positions, use optical illusions, and symbolisms.  Some paintings had big crowds and others had peace.  Many gathered and stared at The Hallucingenic Toreador, inspired by Dali's wife's dislike for bullfighting.

We had the fortune of visiting while the museum also offered the Dali & Schiaparelli Paris special exhibition.  As a friend, Dali influenced fashion designer Elisa Schiaparelli (1890-1973).  Elsa was born in Rome, Italy and lived in the UK, France, and United States and became one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars.  Challenging the status quo, she used dream-based designs, imagery, fantasy, vibrant colors, experimental fabrics, and handmade decorations.  Some described her art as elegant, brazen, and unrestrained.  The exhibit featured haute couture gowns and new designs by Bertrand Guyon for Maison Schiaparelli.