NGV secures famous Salvador Dali painting for Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition

SALVADOR Dali’s famous dreamscape of melting watches rarely leaves its New York home. But a coup by the National Gallery of Victoria means the surreal masterpiece will soon be unveiled in Melbourne.

SALVADOR Dali’s famous dreamscape of melting watches is coming to Melbourne.

The Persistence of Memory, which rarely leaves its home at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, will be at the National Gallery of Victoria in June as part of its Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, MoMA at NGV.

MoMA director Glenn D. Lowry agreed to send Dali’s surreal gem to Melbourne out of respect for NGV chief Tony Ellwood and his curatorial team.

NGV’S TRIENNIAL EXHIBITION CELEBRATES OVER 100 ARTISTS

Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory.

“Tony is a great colleague,” he said yesterday in New York.

“I like him enormously, so when he asked for it (The Persistence of Memory), saying yes wasn’t so hard.

“This show wouldn’t have happened if hadn’t been for the friendship between us, a friendship that translates into trust.

“We’re sending treasured works from the Museum that don’t travel very often because the NGV is an outstanding museum in whom we have a great deal of confidence.”

Years in the making, MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art will feature more than 230 works by artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock at NGV International.

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