Salvadore Dali (1904-1989), Portrait of Gala.

Lithograph, limited edition, Arches velin paper 58 x 35 cm in light passe - partout 76 x 52 cm. Numbered in pencil l.d.: DXLIV/MM and hand-signed under the composition. At the bottom, dry seal-circular, "under the crown G/DALI"; on the reverse, foundation seal: "Fundatio Gala-Salvador Dali". - Foundation logo in the shape of a sailboat with the letter G on the sail. Original publisher's certificate.
Gala, born Yelena Ivanovna Diakonova, was married and a mother when she met the famous surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. She later became his greatest muse, his fiercest defender and his fiercest antagonist.
For Dalí, meeting Gala was love at first sight. In his work Secret Life, Dali writes: "She was destined to become my Gradiva, the one who goes forward, my victory, my wife." Dali considered Gala his ultimate challenge and ultimate muse. Dali, whose only serious sexual relationships at the time involved his own warped fantasies, was charmed by Gala's voracious appetite. The two immediately began a passionate affair: the shy Dali with Gala, a known nymphomaniac.