The Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres is investing 8.6 million euros in its expansion.
The architect Oscar Tusquets tells how, when he proposed to Salvador Dalí in the early 1970s that he reproduce the Face of Mae West as a life-size living room , the painter replied: “ Collonut . We have just bought the fish market next to the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres and there is space there to set it up.”
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More than 50 years have passed, and this furnished portrait of the American actress's face is the star of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in the Empordà region, which is now planning a new expansion. "We have purchased properties adjacent to the institution in order to grow," explained Jordi Mercader, president of the Dalí Foundation, this morning during a breakfast with the press at the Círculo Ecuestre in Barcelona.
The Dalí Foundation achieved a profit of 7.6 million euros in 2024.The acquisition of the properties adjacent to the Teatre-Museu entailed an outlay of 7.6 million euros. Now, the institution has launched the renovation process, which will be completed by the end of the year and will involve an outlay of another million euros. The institution plans to allocate a total of 8.6 million euros to expand the space by approximately 1,500 square meters. This space will serve to "improve visitor mobility, expand exhibition capacity, enlarge staff facilities, and enhance the exterior areas with new courtyards."
Gala's Cadillac, at the Dalí Museum in Figueres
Third partiesThis initiative will release some of the Dalí work that remains in storage because it doesn't fit in the current space. New spaces will also be offered to visitors, as the central courtyard "cannot be touched because it is a work of art in itself." Dalí installed The Rainy Cadillac in the former theater stalls, a surrealist work that is another of the establishment's star works.
The Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres
Vanguardia ClubMae West's Salon , The Cadillac , Naked Gala Gazing at the Sea, President Lincoln Appears 18 Meters Away , Atomic Leda , Soft Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon ... are some of the works that attract more visitors to the old Figueres theatre every year.
Salvador Dalí's surrealism permeates every corner of his Theatre-Museum.
Third partiesIn 2024, the three museums run by the Dalí Foundation—the museum in Figueres, the Gala Dalí Castle in Púbol, and the Salvador Dalí House in Porlligat—collectively recorded more than one million visitors. A record figure that has led to a strong financial result for the foundation, which recorded a net profit of €7.6 million last year.
Dalí Museum in Figueres
OwnThe proceeds will primarily go toward expanding the museum, but the foundation, which is required to reinvest its profits, has many other projects in the works. To start, the organization is preparing an exhibition based on the work The Madonna of Portlligat , which will travel from the Fukuoka museum in Japan to Figueres, where it will remain from September of this year until February 2026.
Portlligat (Girona) from the Salvador Dalí house museum.
Third partiesIn addition, the exhibition "Salvador Dalí: Revolution and Tradition" will be promoted at the Museo del Corso in Rome, which will take place from October of this year to January of next year. Taschen will publish "DALÍ ," a limited deluxe edition of 10,000 copies about the life and work of the Empordà painter, which will be presented to the public on June 5.
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