A Surreal Childhood with Salvador Dali: Christine Argillet Previews her Gallery Appearance

Christine Argillet is a remarkable person. She is the curator and caretaker of the Argillet Collection, the most authenticated collection of Salvador Dali's work throughout his career. She is the daughter of Pierre Argillet, Dali’s publisher, collaborator, and longtime friend with whom Dali debated artistic ideals, participated in the Surrealist community, and developed the artworks found in the Argillet Collection. And she is one of the few people who can say that they personally knew Salvador Dali.

Growing up, Christine and her father would spend her childhood summers living by Dali in Spain as Dali and Pierre collaborated on their artistic projects. Christine is full of stories from these years, which she will share during her appearances at Michael Murphy Gallery as part of the “Salvador Dali: The Argillet Collection” exhibit. Learn more on our website event page here.

In the meantime, enjoy this preview of just a couple of memories from Christine Argillet’s surreal childhood.

“As we were at Salvador Dali’s house in Spain, visitors such as Elvis Presley or Walt Disney would temporarily interrupt the tranquility of the place and add to the surreal atmosphere. When extravagant visitors would leave, Dali would right away resume his steady routine. Most days, Dali was dressed in a very simple manner, wearing shorts, an embroidered shirt and Catalan sandals. He would whistle as he was shaping strange objects and painting for long hours in his fisherman’s house...