Dali17 is an art project dedicated to one of the most influential surrealist artists of the twentieth century, Salvador Dali. The collection brings together etchings, lithographs, mixed media works and rare sculptures gathered over decades of private collecting along the California coast.
The name Dali17 references the artist's documented connection to 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula, where he spent extended periods during the 1940s. This geographical and biographical link gives the collection a sense of place that few Dali exhibitions outside Europe can claim.
What you will find here
This site serves as a written archive accompanying the collection. It is organized around three main areas: the works themselves, the life of the artist as it relates to California, and the format of the exhibition as it has been presented to visitors over the years.
If you are new to Dali's work, the section about the artist provides an accessible overview of his career, his evolution as a painter, and the philosophical ideas behind surrealism as a movement. If you are already familiar with his more famous canvases, the collection pages focus on the less reproduced works that form the core of Dali17.
Why surrealism still matters
Almost a century after the first surrealist manifesto in 1924, the movement continues to influence painting, sculpture, advertising, cinema and fashion. Dali was not the founder of surrealism, but he became its public face, in part because of his theatrical personality and his refusal to separate art from spectacle.
The exhibition tries to keep this spirit. Rather than treating the works as fixed historical objects, it presents them as conversations across time about memory, dream, paranoia and beauty. Visitors often note that the experience changes depending on the time of day and the order in which the rooms are visited.
About this archive
The content presented here is informational. It does not sell tickets, does not coordinate visits, and is not affiliated with any commercial gallery. For questions about the original collection or about how individual works were acquired, the museum's published catalogues remain the authoritative source.