In Catalonia in Northern Spain, there is an area known as the Dali Triangle. It encompasses the Spanish-born surrealist painter's home in Cadaques, the castle in Pubol that he built for his wife, Gala, and the Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres.
Now, there's a North American Dali Triangle. One point is a unique yet temporary exhibit of the artist's work in Philadelphia, another is the permanent collection of his work in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The third can be found in Fredericton. Who would have suspected that Dali's influence could be found in a small art gallery in a quiet maritime town?
I have known of the exceptional art collection at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery for some time because, as an undergraduate at the University of New Brunswick, I had occasionally visited the gallery, mostly to see the monumental Dali work, Santiago el Grande, for which it is justly famous. It is the kind of painting that particularly appeals to the student aesthetic, with its monumental size -- it is almost four metres tall -- and dream-like religious symbolism.
When I recently visited Fredericton for my son's graduation from my alma mater, I had just returned from a tour of the Catalonian Dali Triangle. It had been an enlightening trip, particularly the intimate glimpse of the artist that was shown in his small house in Cadaques, and in the idiosyncratic castle in Pubol.
The museum, however, was not a complete success. There is no disputing the fact that the Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres is home to some of the finest Dali works, but when I visited, it was crowded with group tours, with seniors and students milling around and making it difficult to see the work.
The layout of the museum is awkward for viewing as well. Dali wanted visitors to turn corners and be surprised, to discover the pieces almost organically, in unexpected places. That's fine if you are alone and have time to work your way through the labyrinth of hallways, but when the space is crowded, it's difficult to appreciate the collection.
So, on a fine spring afternoon, I decided to revisit the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Founded in 1959, it was a gift to the people of New Brunswick from Sir Max Aitken, the first Lord Beaverbrook, who grew up in New Brunswick and made his fortune in England in newspaper publishing and finance. His generous gifts of money and artworks, as well as donations from other New Brunswick philanthropists, have led to the creation of this astonishing treasure trove of art on the banks of the Saint John River.
As I entered, the gallery was cool and silent. The Dalis were there -- no crowds, no noise, no rush -- and I was able to enjoy them in peace. There are three others besides the iconic Santiago el Grande. They are oddly quirky portraits, two of Sir James Dunn and one of Lady Dunn. Dunn was a wealthy New Brunswick-born industrialist, and he and Lady Dunn had met and formed a friendship with Dali when the artist had seen Sir James across from him in a New York restaurant and had asked to be introduced. Dali later painted the portraits, one of Lady Dunn titled Equestrian Fanstasy: Lady Dunn, and the two of Sir James.
After Sir James's death, the widowed Lady Dunn became good friends with her husband's close acquaintance, Lord Beaverbrook. They married a year before Beaverbrook died, when he was 84 and she was 56. After his death, Lady Dunn continued to make generous gifts to the gallery and to the province that had nurtured both of her husbands.
There is, of course, much more to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery than Dali. It's home to a fine international collection, as well as a broad representation of contemporary Atlantic artists such as Mary Pratt and Christopher Pratt, Alex Colville, Molly Lamb Bobak and Bruno Bobak.
