AUDIOBOOK
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Surreal, the long-awaited, definitive biography of Gala Dalí, unmasks this famous yet little-known queen of the twentieth-century art world, who graced the canvases, inspired the poetry, and influenced the careers of her illustrious lovers and husbands with tenderness, courage, and agency.
Using previously undiscovered material, Surreal tells the riveting story of Gala Dalí,(1894-1982) a 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 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. She was the survivor of two world wars, the Russian revolution and the Spanish Civil War, and lived between France, Spain and the U.S. Gala was a heroine whose originality captivated people wherever she went, and her life story has everything to pull readers toward it: size; glamour; drama; true love, twisted love; ambition; money; art; defiance; daring, and sweeping social unrest. 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.
Using previously undiscovered material, Surreal tells the riveting story of Gala Dalí,(1894-1982) a 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 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. She was the survivor of two world wars, the Russian revolution and the Spanish Civil War, and lived between France, Spain and the U.S. Gala was a heroine whose originality captivated people wherever she went, and her life story has everything to pull readers toward it: size; glamour; drama; true love, twisted love; ambition; money; art; defiance; daring, and sweeping social unrest. 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.
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Reviews
"Narrator Derek Perkins is the gold standard for audiobooks devoted to artists and the fine arts, and also, it seems, for stunts and high jinks. Clearly, he revels in this biography of "the mother of surrealism," Gala Dali, wife of Salvadore Dali and a creative force in her own right. Her first husband, French poet Paul luard, described her as "an extraordinary, versatile, and ingenious woman who understood the value of celebrity." This proves to be an understatement. Gala managed Dali and, more importantly, his public image. Perkins brings his distinctive eloquence and style to a narrative rich in anecdotes and tidbits. It's thoroughly entertaining, but the effect is an increased regard for surrealism, and Dali, and his vital and inventive partner behind the scenes. D.A.W. � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
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