Salvador Dalí Museum Grand Opening -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Grand Opening of the New Salvador Dalí Museum
1 - 11 - 11 at 11am Saint Petersburg, Florida

The Maestro himself would love what is going on this week in St. Petersburg, Florida.  This Tuesday the man who focused his art on Metamorphosis will see a great transformation take place to the largest collection of his artwork outside Spain.  The new Dali Museum will open just blocks away from the museum space that had held his artwork for years.  The museum and the city of St. Pete have created a spectacle opening worthy of the artist and his work.

Billed as a "surreal procession" the festivites start at the old museum at 1000 Third St. S., at 9:30 a.m. and concluding at the new museum, located eight blocks north at One Dalí Blvd.  The procession will include VIP guests and dignitaries, entertainers, models and musicians, plus the Krewe of the Knights of Sant’ Yago and a Dalí look alike in a horse and carriage.  The entertainment continues at the new Dalí Museum, starting with a 30-second Horn Fanfare by the Florida Orchestra Brass Quintet.

A dedication program and a ribbon cutting ceremony led by the King and Queen of Spain’s youngest daughter, S.A.R. la Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, begins at 11 a.m. The ceremony will conclude at noon and mark the beginning of a new era for the Dalí.


More after the Fold

The new Dalí is double the size of the current museum - 7,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet. Salvador Dalí’s works of art will finally have a home designed specifically for this collection.



The new Dalí Museum is also built to protect the priceless art collection. The design has already attracted the world’s attention and is listed as “one of the top buildings you have to see before you die” in AOL Travel News.

The museum’s exterior is itself a work of art, featuring more than 900 triangular-shaped glass panels. This geodesic glass structure – nicknamed the “Glass Enigma” – is the only structure of its kind in North America and is a 21st century expression of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome as utilized in Dalí’s Teatro Museo in Figueres, Spain.


No two glass panels are identical, providing a truly unique view of St. Petersburg’s picturesque waterfront. The Helical Staircase – a spiral that ascends to the third floor galleries – is the main architectural focus of the interior. An energetic form created with mathematical precision and resembling a strand of DNA, Dalí recognized the helix as evidence of the divine in nature.

Yann Weymouth, AIA, senior vice president and design director for HOK, conceived the museum’s architectural design. It was enlivened with a geodesic oculum by Novum Structures, which engineered and installed the free-form glass exterior.


Most importantly, the new museum will allow for more of Dalí’s work to be on display than ever before and will feature amenities including a café, theater, classroom and student gallery.

The museum houses the largest collection of Dalí's work outside of Spain - 2140 pieces of Dalí's work, 96 oil paintings and eight master works (measuring over 5 feet). 

The core collection was donated by Cleveland industrialist, A. Reynolds Morse and his wife Eleanor. It represents the culmination of a 45-year friendship between the Morses and Dalí and his wife, Gala. The Museum opened on March 7, 1982.

The Dalí Museum is open to the public 10 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets will be available online, walk-up and for Dalí Members.



Admission price ranges from $7 to $21. Admission at the old museum ranged from $5 to $17. The garden is free.


For more information, call 727-823-3767, 1-800-442-DALI (3254)
 
Salvador Dalí Museum website

Full Article from Tampa Bay Newspapers Online

A Great Interactive Tour of the Museum found at TampaBay.com