Why are there so many fake Dalís?

“The Perfect Storm” of the Salvador Dalí print market in the 1980’s resulted in the publication and sale of many thousands of fake Dalí prints. The explanation of how this occurred is to be found in “The Six Myths that Drive the Art Market”.

In 1980, Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala got sick and returned to their home in Cadaques, Spain. From that time until his death in 1989, the artist was an almost total recluse. His health was in constant decline, he was said to have Parkinson’s disease, and two cataclysmic events caused his further decline. In 1982, Gala--his muse and constant companion on whom he depended heavily—died. In 1984, he was badly burned by a fire at the Chateau of Pubol (Gala’s former home). The few visitors allowed to see Dalí during the years from 1980 to 1989 reported that he was in wretched condition with a severe palsy that made it impossible for him to create art or sign his name.

In 1983, Dalí emerged from seclusion just long enough to attend an exhibition of his work and the public was shocked by his appearance and condition. All of these reports worked to the advantage of the forgers and the crooked publishers and dealers. They produced many thousands of unauthorized reprints, reproductions, copies and just plain fake prints on paper that bore forged Dalí signatures. Their explanation was that the prints were genuine and had been printed on paper the Master signed prior to his illness and decline.

With the promise that Dalí would soon die and the value of all of his artworks would increase dramatically, the prints were sold in the great print boom of the 1980’s as good investments. First time buyers and unsophisticated collectors bought in the expectation that at some future time they could resell for handsome profits. After all, they believed they were buying limited edition original prints created and signed by one of the greatest artists of the Twentieth Century.

At the same time, it was almost impossible to find an independent expert who could determine the authenticity of artworks attributed to Salvador Dalí. Only Bernard Ewell, ASA, was working from 1980 to develop the skill and experience necessary to provide such services. (See “What Makes You The Expert?”).

Salvador Dalí himself was unable to do anything about what developed into the greatest art fraud of all time and it is entirely possible that if he had known about the thousands of fakes attributed to him and sold in his name, he would have been flattered.

The Dalí Print Catalogue Raisonné will be a critical book in all future evaluation of prints attributed to this artist whose market continues to grow and who, the international centenary seminar at The Salvador Dalí Museum concluded, will be recognized in a hundred years as one of the giants of Twentieth Century Art.