The Dali Legacy - by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This immersive dive into the life and work of Salvador Dali unlocks the secret of this creative genius and reveals for the first time how his erotically charged paintings changed the world of modern art.

In turns beloved and reviled, twentieth-century painter, filmmaker, and designer Salvador Dali set Europe and the United States ablaze with his uncompromising genius, sexual sadism, and flirtations with megalomania. His shocking behavior and work frequently alienated critics; his views were so outrageous, even prominent Surrealists tried to ostracize him. Still, every morning he experienced "an exquisite joy--the joy of being Salvador Dalí," and because of his remarkable talent, Dali rose to unprecedented levels of fame--forever shifting the landscape of the art world and the nature of celebrity itself.

In this stunning volume, rich with more than 150 full-color images, noted art historians Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown discuss the historical, social, and political conditions that shaped Dali's work, identify the impact of modern as well as old master art, and present an unflinching view of the master's personal relationships and motivations. With their deeply compelling narrative, Isbouts and Brown uncover how Dalí's visual wit and enduring cult of personality still impacts fashion, literature, and art, from Andy Warhol to Lady Gaga, and answer why, in an age of shock and awe, Dali's art still manages to distress, perplex, and entertain. An unparalleled guide to Dali and a critical resource for anyone keen to understand the development of modern art, The Dali Legacy is complemented by a contextualizing foreword from Frank Hunter, director of the Salvador Dali Archives.

Review Quotes

"A well-researched skeleton key with which to unlock some of Dali's many mysteries." --Kirkus Reviews

"Brown and Isbouts take readers through all the main episodes of Dali's remarkable life to give an unflinching view of the artist's personal relationships and motivations." --Artfix Daily

About the Author

Christopher Heath Brown is one of the most prominent collectors of works by Salvador Dali in the United States and serves as the director of Brown Discoveries, a research institute focused on Renaissance, Surrealist, and Contemporary art. Together with Jean-Pierre Isbouts, Dr. Brown is the coauthor of The da Vinci Legacy: How an Elusive 16th-Century Artist Became a Global Pop Icon, The Mona Lisa Myth, and Young Leonardo, and the coproducer of The Search for the Last Supper and The Search for the Mona Lisa specials shown on Public Television. Dr. Brown lives in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Jean-Pierre Isbouts is an art historian and a professor emeritus at Fielding Graduate University. He is the author or coauthor of multiple history books, including Mapping America, Mapping the Holy Land, National Geographic's The Ultimate Visual History of the World, The Biblical World, In the Footsteps of Jesus, and The Story of Christianity, which together have sold more than two million copies, and together with Christopher Heath Brown, the coauthor of the art books The da Vinci Legacy: How an Elusive 16th-Century Artist Became a Global Pop Icon, The Mona Lisa Myth, and Young Leonardo, and the coproducer of The Search for the Last Supper and The Search for the Mona Lisa specials shown on Public Television. Dr. Isbouts has been on numerous radio and TV shows, is the host of several series for The Great Courses, and has directed several programs for Disney, ABC, Hallmark, and the History Channel, working with actors such as Leonard Nimoy, Charlton Heston, Dick van Dyke, and Morgan Freeman, and produced recordings with orchestras around the world. Dr. Isbouts lives in Santa Monica, California.

Frank Hunter is the director of the Salvador Dali Archives. He lives in New York.