Focused AF. Salvador DalĂ died on January 23, 1989, almost 28 years ago. The Surrealist artist remains well-recognised, thanks to his moustache, but did you know about these unusual antics? 1. Salvador DalĂ made accidental millionaires of his secretaries - Long before the interning trend took off, DalĂ refused to pay his secretaries. Instead he gave them commissions, which didn't pay their rent at the time, but resulted in many of them cashing in seven-figure sums in later life. 2. DalĂ was expelled from art school, but only because he wanted to be - The budding artist refused to be examined for the art history final of his degree, saying “none of the professors of the school being competent to judge me, I retire”. DalĂ’s reason for leaving was not, however, ideological, but practical: he wanted to continue being financially supported by his father, but this would stop once he had a degree. Instead, he had reason to go and study in Paris at his expense. 3. DalĂ nearly suffocated explaining his own importance - During the London International Surrealist Exhibition in 1936, DalĂ, then in the prime of his artistic career, gave a lecture wearing an old-fashioned deep-sea diving suit to represent, he later revealed, how he existed in the bottom of the sea of subconciousness. What his adoring fans didn't realise is that DalĂ was suffocating inside the soundproofed glass bowl, thinking his exaggerated gestures an amusing part of his act. As the artist nearly fainted, poet David Gascoyne came to the rescue with a spanner. 4. DalĂ married his friend's wife - DalĂ met his beloved wife, Gala, while she was still married to his friend, French poet Paul Eluard in 1929. Eluard diplomatically appeared as one of the witnesses at their wedding. The marriage offended DalĂ’s family, who disapproved of Gala being both a mother and 10 years older than DalĂ, and DalĂ was disinherited by his Father as a result. [ excerpt from telegraph.co.uk ] #arthistory #fridaynightgrind #mood #focusedAF #dali #MMoA