Gala Dalí (1894-1982) served as a muse for several famous Surrealist artists. Without her influence, the beloved painter Salvador Dalí may never have risen to such great heights.
Gala Dalí (1894-1982) served as a muse for several famous Surrealist artists. Without her influence, the beloved painter Salvador Dalí may never have risen to such great heights.
This month, we’re talking about muses–women who were drivers of creativity and inspiration. Once again, we’re proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz (whose famous namesake was inspired by a young muse named Mercedes). Tune in daily for stories of women whose lives inspired work that has shaped our culture.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. This is Womanica.
This month, we're talking about muses -- women who were drivers of creativity and inspiration.
Today, we’re talking about the woman who served as a muse for several famous Surrealist artists. Without her influence, it’s possible the beloved painter Salvador Dalí would never have risen to such great heights.
Meet Gala Dalí.
Gala Dalí was born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova in 1894 in Kazan, Russia. When she was 17, she developed tuberculosis and went to a sanatorium in Switzerland to recover. There, she met the Surrealist poet Paul Éluard, who was also a patient.
They fell in love, and she encouraged him to seriously pursue his writing career. In turn, Paul nicknamed her Gala and described her as “the woman whose gaze pierces walls.”
When they were both well again, they returned to their respective homes in Moscow and Paris. In 1916, Gala moved to France to live with Paul and his family. They got married, and in 1918, Gala gave birth to her only daughter, Cecile.
Paul introduced Gala to other Surrealist artists in Paris, many of whom were taken by her beauty and fierce spirit. She modeled for the visual artist Man Ray. And she is also the only woman to appear in Max Ernst’s painting “A Friend’s Reunion,” which depicts many of the most influential names in Surrealism at the time. Max was also smitten with Gala, and she and Paul briefly maintained a ménage à trois relationship with the painter.
In 1929, Gala and Paul took a vacation in Cadaqués, Spain. There, they befriended the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí. Gala was intrigued by Dalí’s talents and began a romance with the artist, who was ten years younger and just beginning his career.
Paul and Gala had an open marriage, and he initially dismissed her relationship with Dalí as just another affair. However, Gala proved him wrong by leaving her husband and daughter behind and moving to Spain to live in poverty with Dalí. In 1932, she divorced Paul, and two years later, Gala married her new artist lover.
Dalí produced hundreds of paintings and sketches featuring Gala. She was the only woman he ever painted, and he credited her as his main inspiration and muse. He even began to ask Gala to sign his paintings, demonstrating her importance to his artistic process. Dalí loved Gala, in his words, “more than my mother, more than my father, more than Picasso, and even more than money.”
But Gala was more than a muse and wife. She was also working hard to raise Dalí’s profile as an artist by attracting wealthy collectors. She was honest and sometimes brutal in her feedback of his work. She was also known as a difficult personality, and art dealers in Paris nicknamed her “Gala la Gale” — meaning a spiteful person.
During the 1930s and ‘40s, Gala pushed Dalí to travel to New York City and eventually Hollywood to find American patrons. During their years in America, the couple made a splash in the fashion world, partnering with Dior to promote their “New Look” collection in 1947.
But as Gala helped Dalí become more famous, many of his fellow Surrealists criticized him for becoming too commercial — and blamed Gala. People also suspected that Gala was signing Dalí’s name to blank sheets of paper to make prints and sell them for a premium price. The artist’s reputation began to decline.
Dalí was very wealthy by now, and Gala was known to gamble away huge sums of his money in underground casinos. Dalí also bought Gala a castle in Púbol, Spain, where she could entertain a string of younger lovers. Dalí himself was not allowed to enter the castle without a formal invitation. Dalí wrote, “I limited myself to the pleasure of decorating her ceilings so that when she raised her eyes, she would always find me in her sky.”
During this period, Gala maintained a long affair with the stage actor Jeff Fenholt, the star of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” She bought him a million-dollar-home in Long Island, NY and gave him several valuable Dalí paintings. Dalí didn’t find out until Jeff auctioned them off, provoking a huge fight between the married couple.
In early 1982, Gala became ill and was hospitalized. She eventually returned home but never recovered her strength. She died on June 10, 1982 at 87 years old. She was buried in the crypt in her castle, wearing her favorite red Dior gown.
After her death, Dalí’s health declined significantly. As one of his biographers wrote, “after Gala’s death, Dalí lost his will to paint or even live.”
All month, we’re highlighting muses. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!