ASK THE DALI GURU, JOE NUZZOLO: A Weekly Conversation . . .

j_07942

This is the first of a once-a-week interview with Dali guru Joe Nuzzolo, President of The Salvador Dali Society, Inc. Dali Society historian/blogger Paul Chimera will be asking the questions. Enjoy!

Paul Chimera (PC): You have an important Dali Catalog Raisonne coming out. When can we expect it to be published and why is it important for Dali collectors to have this resource?

Joe Nuzzolo (JN): I have been accumulating information for the book since 1993. To say it was a colossal task is an understatement. Dali created over 1,700 works in the print medium. He worked with many different publishers and his record-keeping was not the best. In fact, he relied on the publishers to keep the records. I engaged two other Dali experts I hold in the highest regard: Lawrence Saphire, who worked with and knew Dali and has a specialized knowledge of the early prints; and Peter B. Lucas, who also has business with Dali and has an intimate understanding of works from 1960-80.

This is a very well-researched book. It contains information that has never before been seen in print. Cumulatively, we authors have over 130 years of experience and it still took us nearly seven years of working together to bring it to completion. The book will be out in early 2017. It can be reserved at Dali.com. I strongly recommend that anyone interested get on the waiting list. We are not taking payment or even jotting down payment info. We are simply creating a priority list.

The first 500 will be signed by all three authors, and by getting on the waiting list you secure a sales price of $395. We intend to release the book at $495. This is a bargain when you consider that the Chagall books are nearly $10,000 and the Picasso books are over $5,000. In fact, I recently saw the Dali sculpture book on sale for over $1,000 and it has much fewer entries than ours.

PC: What sets The Salvador Dali Society, Inc. apart from other groups that deal in Dali works?

JN: Many things. We only sell authentic Dali works. There are dealers out there who have admitted under oath to selling fakes, yet they still engage in the Dali business. Each one of our works comes with a third-party Certificate of Authenticity.

We not only offer only authentic Dali’s, we direct our clients to those works we feel are the most important within their budgetary range. So if you tell me you have $5,000 to spend, I will find you the best work you can own for $5,000.

PC: Why is it Dali for you and not, say, Pablo Picasso or Joan Miro?

JN: I always liked Dali. When I was barely 20 and hanging out in New York, it was all about Andy Warhol. Don’t get me wrong – I like Andy’s work and even have a collection of them, but  I was always intrigued by the works of Salvador Dali.

Each of his works had layered meanings and in my opinion he is the most technically sophisticated of the group. I was lucky, when I came to California in 1987, I was able to land a job at a gallery in Beverly Hills that sold the works by Salvador Dali. It just snowballed from there.

 

 

 

PSSSST! Love Dali?

Sign up to join The Salvador Dali "Secret" Society®

Stay updated on offerings, events, and more!