by Salvador Dali
This appears to be an advertisement commissioned by Wallace Laboratories (New Brunswick, NJ) in which "...Dali was chosen to undertake an experiment--a visualization of the transition from mental turmoil to tranquility."
The cover illustration is dated 1958; it is followed by three full-page color illustrations inside, and a color photo of Dali with a model of the Crisalida exhibit. It appears that these images are all exclusive to this brochure. The entire thing is pictured here.
The exhibit apparently advertised a drug called meprobamate. I found a reference to the exhibit in a book titled The Age of Anxiety (pp.76-8).
Clearly this piece was printed circa 1958 because there is reference to Dali completing Santiago el Grande (1957) immediately prior to undertaking Crisalida.
It is not known how many of these were printed, but it is extremely rare. So rare, that most collectors probably don't even know it exists and so there may be a small market for this piece. With such little competition for it, you should be able to snag it for a bargain of fewer than $20. But the wait will be long.
1 comment:
Wow this is a historic mind blower relating to the tranquilized North American lifestyle in "the age of anxiety". I just listened to a Summer program on CBC Radio, called "On Drugs" hosted by Jeff Turner. He talked all about Miltown the tranquilizer and how in the U.S. so many were using it and it became normalized. He also talked about how Dali was commissioned to paint "Crislida". His wife who was a big user of Miltown came up with the idea.
Great blog and so glad I found it!
Catherine Meyers
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