The Varnished Culture’s offices have its share of Dalí fans, certainly. Yet we doubt that Trilogy of the desert: Mirage (1946) is one of his best pieces. Still, Dalí is Dalí.
In the wake of the artist’s 114th birthday on 11 May, the NGV has launched a crowd-funding campaign to acquire the piece, which might be a first for a major Australian gallery (we suppose that the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has, like all socialists, finally run out of other peoples’ money). Here’s their pitch:
“The National Gallery of Victoria has an extraordinary opportunity to become the first public collection in Australia to acquire a painting by renowned Surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí. The NGV is launching a major campaign to raise funds and ensure this impressive work finds its home in Australia. Trilogy of the desert: Mirage, 1946, was the centrepiece of a triptych commissioned by William Lightfoot Schultz, founder of Shulton Cosmetics, to promote Desert Flower, a new brand of perfume and makeup for women. The image shows an arid Catalonian landscape upon which emerges a meticulously drawn but fragmented Renaissance architectural fantasy; at the centre, a desert flower blooms from a classical bust of the Apollo Belvedere. Trilogy of the desert: Mirage,1946, perfectly encapsulates Dalí’s middle period when he reinvented himself and his approach to art.”
In any case, you can click on the link and make a donation, and see the NGV’s short film on the matter below.
[P.S. The piece is now on show at NGV. We saw it November 2018, and it is much better viewed ‘in the flesh,’ as usual.]https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/support-us/donate-today-online/?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018NGVAnnualAppeal&utm_content=version_A&promo=6567
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