Wicked lady: Salvador Dalí's muse

by Tim McGirk

This account of the life of Gala Dali describes an extraordinary love story. When she died at the age of 87 in 1982, Salvador Dali locked himself in her room, drew the curtains, and refused to eat. The couple were married for 50 years, Gala being instrumental in pulling Dali back from the verge of madness and nursing him through depressions and illnesses, real as well as imaginary. This biography describes her profound influence on Dali's painting and attempts to establish the fact that Gala was the key to understanding much of the work of the great surrealist painter. The book also covers Gala Dali's early years in Paris in the 1920s and her first marriage to Paul Elouard.

Genres: Biography, Art

168 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 1989

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book, terrifying woman. I had heard snippets about her before, but was completely unaware of her tempestuous first marriage to Paul Éluard (who established the template for her insanely adulterous relationship with Dalí) and her refusal to be a mother to their child, Cecile.
Every action in her life seemed to be a conquest or a revenge. On the other hand, if she’d been a man, seducing twentysomethings in her 80s would not have seemed as repugnant to many people. Gala tricked some men into believing she was an ultimate arbiter of artistic merit, even though she had no real talent herself. On the one hand, she kept the incapable Dalí alive and promoted him until he actually had market value, but in the other hand, she was a nasty person to deal with on a financial level, and she may have pushed him to become a caricature of himself in his commodification. Could he have been a better artist without her? Many say yes but I don’t think so. I think he easily could have been a footnote, or at least his own worst enemy. The author concludes by say he thought he’d find some excuse for her sadistic, vain, greedy behavior but alas, he could not. They both died traumatized by the results of their lives, reviled by the new Spain for Dalí’s support of Franco, reviled by the art world for Gala’s unscrupulousness, completely angry and mistrustful of each other, and abandoned by almost everybody.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very journalistic in style, but well researched, with interesting insights from first hand interviews. This biography covers a fascinating swathe of 20th century history while following the eccentric life of Gala Dali, a bewitching but ultimately unlikeable character. Almost as interesting as a biography of Dali from a different perspective, and for the insights into the rise and fall of Surrealism which both Eluard and Dali's played a key role in.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collision - in chronological order - of various facts, stories and rumours of Dali's long-time love and muse. It paints a picture of the relationship that so strongly influenced his work , both directly , and indirectly with Gala also serving as his task master, his Agent and matriarch (Gala was 10 years older than Dali). Gala helped an emotionally, volatile Dali cope with a number of neuroses while unconditionally supporting his vision; her unfaltering belief in his ability remained until her death.
This book does not present a pretty picture; it tells the story of an intimidating, nymphomaniac woman devoid of any empathy for others (to put it nicely) and hell bent on the success of Dali. She was unable to sustain relationships - even familial (something Dali also struggled with) for long, especially those with other women. But it seems her cold, stoic nature (she cut-off her own daughter since abandoning her to her mother-in-law to the day she died) is also what bound her so strongly to Dali. The Author does question at the end whether the latter days of their relationship hindered Dali more than helped. He also questions why he wrote a book on someone so despicable. Indeed, the reader is left wondering whether there were any moments of tenderness or remorse that could have been snuck in - it is human nature to want to see the best in somebody.
This book would be an interesting read for Dali fans . In saying that, 'The lives of nine muses..' by Francine Prose is fantastic book I would recommend to any art fan, and the chapter on Dali and Gala offers the same level of insight McGirk captures.

[Brucus Scriptus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xmas 1989, an Oxy oil exec & wife brought us to a gala multi-floor party atop an old building near Sloane Square, London, with 100s of happy people & food galore. The hosts were fun - and their son, Tim McGirk, was home from his estimable work as Pakistan reporter & bureau chief for Time magazine. Tim had just published a biography of DALI's... fascinating... muse GALA. It's a gem of a book. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

[Dozy Pilchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I felt that this book was a little harsh on Ms Dali, but as it progressed the damning title began to ring true. An interesting account of a disparate collection of abysmals, with Gala, ultimately, able to outdo any one of them. Sickening in parts, but eye opening.

[ISRA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, informative. The conversational writing lightens the mood so it doesn’t feel as dense a read as nonfiction books can sometimes be. I read it because like the author I wanted to see the humanity of Gala rather than the notoriety of her influence as a muse.

[Geisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

[Jae Jaggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Warhol was said to have remarked that he was scared of Gala Dali. Having read Wicked Lady, I was too, and I was just reading about her! Bloody hell. Terrifying, a visionary, a woman who could look at the nascent, unknown Salvador Dali and see the artist he could become (read about Dali’s grooming ritual to ‘seduce’ Gala and no blind date will ever seem bizarre again.) Having read this book, it’s difficult to imagine Dali would have reached the heights he did, nor created many of his masterworks without her. Gala Dali was pure steel in her promotion of him, and extraordinary in the scope of her vision. Oh, and very, very scary. Recommended reading.

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dali:"Jedyna różnica pomiędzy mną a szaleńcem polega na tym,że ja nie jestem szalony"
Dali:"Sekret Gali polega na tym, że ukryta jest wewnątrz mojego sekretu. Często ludzie muślą, że odkryli moje tajemnice, ale to jest niemożliwe, ponieważ to, co odkryli, to nie mój sekret, to sekret Gali."
Gala:"Dzień, w którym umrę, będzie najlepszym dniem w moim życiu."

[Maritza Noa-cabrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book, Gala was a very strong woman who knew how to manipulate everyone around her. I guess they were suited to each other, they both were eccentric in their own right. Must read it again.