Florida's Salvador Dali Museum

In the 1950's, A. Reynolds Morse and his wife Eleanor met Salvador Dali at a cocktail party in New York. They had been fans of his work and begun collecting his paintings in the 1940's. Eventually, in 1971, they opened a Dali museum in Cleveland, where they lived. Visitor demand was so great that they needed to build a bigger museum. So a search began for land which ended up in St. Petersburg, Florida which was reminiscent of Dali's home in Spain, Cadaques. 



This museum houses the most comprehensive collection of his work anywhere. Located on the harbor and amongst palm trees, this three story building is a work of art itself. And the gardens behind are small but very Dali-esque. 









Admission to the museum is usually $25, but on Thursday evenings the price is lowered to $10. When my friend and I arrived for the low cost night, the line was out the door. (I guess everyone loves a good bargain!) The price of admission includes a docent led tour, which that night was at 5:30, and an audiotape tour. It's been a long time since I've been at such a crowded museum, but it was good to see so many families visiting and listening to the audiotaped tour. 









The museum consists of a gift shop (with some really out of the ordinary items included crooked wine glasses and pj's with his signature melting clock on them) and a cafe serving meditteranean fare named after his wife, Cafe Gala, on the first floor. A spiral staircase leads you to the third floor where the main museum is, a space for special exhibits and a viewpoint to the gardens and the bay. The museum's collection spans the years from 1917 when he first went to art school until 1976 and includes all the styles of art that he painted. Our visit included a special photography collection of he and his wife in their daily life by their friend, photographer Robert Deschanes, which I found fascinating. (This runs this autumn)














The gardens hold picnic tables, a large replica of the famous Dali moustache, a bench with his melting clock and a tree that you can tie your paper wristband to - creating colorful tree art.









This was my third attempt to visit this museum - and it just never worked out. Until now. And I'm really happy I was able to go. Now I just need to get to Cadaques.



This post is part of a link-up with: Weekend Wanderlust at A Brit and A Southerner, Travel Photo Thursday at Travel Notes and Beyond, Weekend Travel Inspiration at Reflections Enroute and Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox!













Comments

  1. I didn't notice it in the first photo but in another photo I noticed the curvy sculpture is actually Dali's mustache. So cool! The museum is gorgeous! So bad this museum wasn't around when I visited the city many years ago.

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    1. It is gorgeous - sorry you didn't get to visit it! In fact, I'm not such a huge fan of Salvador Dali's art but I knew I wanted to see the building itself. :) Thanks for visiting, Ruth!

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  2. The Dali museum looks very interesting. Thanks for the tip on the Thursday evening reduced admission price.

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    1. Thanks for visiting The Unpaved Road, Rhonda!

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  3. I love Dali but haven't seen his museum in Florida. Good to know they have a reduced admission on Thursdays. Thanks for joining us for #TheWeeklyPostcard.

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  4. Sometimes, unless you are on a strict budget, I think it is more sensible to avoid the concession times. I know it feels good to get a bargain but I would rather pay a bit more and avoid the crowds - perhaps I am in a minority there though.

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    1. Actually I agree - I just didn't realize how popular it would be at that time. I know some of the museums in New York have extremely long lines when they're discounted though. It was still worth it - it's a very cool museum to visit!

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  5. I'm not much into Museums but this one looks pretty cool. Thursday night is when I would choose to visit. Museums sometimes seem so lifeless so I would appreciate sharing the visit with loads of others. :) One of the few times I ever said that lol.

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    1. Ha Ha I never thought about it that way but it does seem more vibrant in a museum when there's lots of people there. I'm going to keep this as my viewpoint! Thanks for visiting, Jan!

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  6. I love the art of Salvador Dali! That bench with the melting clock is awesome! His museum in Florida must be very inspiring. #WeekendWanderlust

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    1. It's a very interesting place to visit - I learned alot about Salvador Dali that I didn't know. Thanks for visiting!

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