Conquest of the Air, 1937
Gouache and charcoal on paper
63.5 by 48.5 cm (25 by 19⅛ in.)
Twice signed 'Dalí' and twice dated '1937' (lower right)
71449
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Executed in 1937. Salvador Dalí’s Conquest of the Air (1937) was originally created for the cover of The American Weekly, a Hearst-owned Sunday newspaper supplement known for blending popular history,...
Executed in 1937.
Salvador Dalí’s Conquest of the Air (1937) was originally created for the cover of The American Weekly, a Hearst-owned Sunday newspaper supplement known for blending popular history, pseudo-science, and romantic fiction. Due to its high circulation and sensationalist reporting, the publication was a media staple in Depression-era America. Executed during the Spanish Civil War while Dalí was traveling between the United States and Europe, the present work was executed during a stay at the home of English collector Edward James in Italy. Conquest of the Air portrays both figurative and abstracted visions of the future. An omniscient head hovers above a vacuous landscape; its eyes serve as searchlights while the top of the head functions as a runway for futuristic flying vehicles. Nearby, a moth-like humanoid form hovers toward the earth. The work’s grayscale palette and graphic efficacy conjure the stark reality of the late 1930s—a tumultuous period where technological innovations in flight ran parallel to the rise of fascism.
Salvador Dalí’s Conquest of the Air (1937) was originally created for the cover of The American Weekly, a Hearst-owned Sunday newspaper supplement known for blending popular history, pseudo-science, and romantic fiction. Due to its high circulation and sensationalist reporting, the publication was a media staple in Depression-era America. Executed during the Spanish Civil War while Dalí was traveling between the United States and Europe, the present work was executed during a stay at the home of English collector Edward James in Italy. Conquest of the Air portrays both figurative and abstracted visions of the future. An omniscient head hovers above a vacuous landscape; its eyes serve as searchlights while the top of the head functions as a runway for futuristic flying vehicles. Nearby, a moth-like humanoid form hovers toward the earth. The work’s grayscale palette and graphic efficacy conjure the stark reality of the late 1930s—a tumultuous period where technological innovations in flight ran parallel to the rise of fascism.
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