Inspired by the
Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination exhibition at the
Walt Disney Family Museum, we were curious to see what we had in the archives about Dali's visits to San Francisco (since we already know what we have on
Walt Disney). We decided a trip to the
San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue and the
San Francisco Examiner Clipping Morgue would tell the story.
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| San Francisco Examiner clipping |
| on Dali |
Salvador Dali and his wife, Gala, visited San Francisco in August 1941 to work on the party planning for "A Surrealistic Night in the Enchanted Forest." The costume party would benefit French and Spanish refugee artists - with Salvador Dali as the guest of honor. The party happened on September 2 in the Bali Room of
Del Monte Hotel in Monterey.
Below is a photo of Salvador Dali with his wife in the
Hotel St. Francis. The newscopy on the back of the photo states, "With an odd background suggestive of his paintings Salvador Dali and his wife are glimpsed during interview Hotel St. Francis. Behind him is a chair perched on top of a dress model."
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| Salvador Dali & wife Gala Dali, Hotel St. Francis, August 27, 1941 |
The Del Monte promised "to be the mecca for a number of localites that evening."
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| Salvador Dali & Mrs. Mrs. Dorothy Spreckels Dupuy, Hotel Del Monte, August 28, 1941 |
Newscopy on back for above photograph: "Salvador Dali, the great surrealist discusses plans with Mrs. Dorothy Spreckels Dupuy at Hotel Del Monte for his forthcoming party, 'A Night in an Enchanted Forest' which will be held in the Bali Room Tuesday night, September 2, for the benefit of the Museum of Modern Art's fund for European artists who want to come to America."
The review of the party according to the
San Francisco Examiner (below)
. There
are fantastic photographs of the party and the costumed guests in the
Disney and Dali exhibition (your teaser to attend the exhibit!). Or here's a
fun, short newsreel including shots of one of the guests, Bob Hope.
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| San Francisco Examiner clipping on Dali's A Night in an Enchanted Forest party, Sept 4, 1941 |
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| SF Examiner clipping on Dali, 1942 |
In January 1942 the Dalis came back to San Francisco Bay Area for Salvador to work on a portrait of Burlingame socialite Mrs. Dorothy Spreckels Dupuy McCarthy (see photo
above of Dali with Dorothy). During the same visit the Ballet Russe
opened the season at the Memorial Opera House featuring Dali's new
ballet "
Labyrinth." Below is Dali working on the portrait of
Mrs. Dorothy Spreckels. (The
Portrait of Dorothy Spreckels Munn was gifted to the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in 1989.)
In an interview Dali explains why he placed her on the dolphin (see San Francisco Examiner clipping on the right).
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| Salvador Dali painting portrait Mrs. Dorothy Spreckels, February 12, 1942 |
The photographs and clippings from 1942 document numerous events attended - with many at the Palace Hotel.
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| Edmund Lymons, Salvador Dali and Gala Dali, Palace Hotel, January 22, 1942 |
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| San Francisco Examiner clipping on Salvador Dali, January 29, 1942 |
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The San Francisco Public Library owns the photo morgue of the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, a daily newspaper that covered the time period from the 1920s to 1965. Much of the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection comes from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue. However, the morgue also includes statewide, national, and international subjects and people that have not been digitized or cataloged. When researchers order scans from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue, selections are cataloged and added to the online database.
Looking for a historical photograph of San Francisco? Try our online database first. Not there? Come visit us at the Photo Desk of the San Francisco History Center, located on the sixth floor at the Main Library. The Photo Desk hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. You may also request photographs from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue.
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The San Francisco Examiner Clipping Morgue is from 1901 - 1987. The collection was donated by the San Francisco Examiner to the San Francisco Public Library. The clippings are stored off-site and may be requested through the San Francisco History Center reference desk by phone, email or in person.
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