1834 - DALI, SALVADOR (1904–1989). “Le Château de Gala” (Gala’s Castle), 1974, color etching with stencil on vellum, signed “Dali” lower right, inscribed “E.A.” (Épreuve d’Artiste) lower left, 59x50 cm (64x53.5 cm with frame). The print is from the 12-piece print portfolio “Après 50 ans de Surréalisme.” Dalí created this series to mark the opening of his museum, the “Teatro-Museo Dalí,” in his Catalan hometown of Figueres. It depicts Púbol Castle in Catalonia. Dalí, who had promised his muse and wife Gala that he would give her a castle, purchased Púbol Castle for her in 1969; she spent her summers there until 1980 and was laid to rest in its crypt in 1982. The painting depicts Salvador Dalí and Gala standing in front of the castle in a theatrical scene, with Gala, dressed as a queen in a red cloak, taking center stage. Hovering above the castle is a typically surrealist elephant-like creature with long legs, transforming the real location into a surrealist myth. Slight browning of the mat (light-induced discoloration). Listed in the WVZ Michler/Löpsinger under No. 675 and in the WVZ Albert Field under No. 74-8K.