Just Being Dalí: The Story of Artist Salvador Dalí

“In a small town on the northern edge of Spain lived a boy with big dreams and an even bigger name: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech.” Guglielmo breezes through the highs and lows of the painter’s antic life (1904–1989), including a disapproving father and expulsion from art school, a pet bat and ocelot, a penchant for capes and elaborate facial hair, paintings featuring live worms and melting clocks, driving “a fancy car stuffed with one thousand pounds of cauliflower,” and being booted from the surrealists’ group—explaining it all as “Salvador couldn’t help being himself.” It’s entertaining, but Dalí remains something of an enigma (he would probably approve). In swirling lines and jewel-like colors, Helquist’s oil on paper illustrations realistically depict Dalí’s carnivalesque world. An afterword offers more insights into the artist’s legacy as well as the controversial reputation he earned in his own time. Ages 4–8. [em](Feb.) [/em]