courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Sotheby's Paris is set to auction a previously unpublished autograph diary belonging to Surrealist artist Salvador Dali. The diary, predicted to sell for $45,000-$56,000, contains original drawings, artistic observations and expenses.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
The diary is believed to date somewhere between 1930 and 1935, a period which saw Dali's star rise with works including "The Persistence of Memory" and the artist's increasing profile in the United States.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Dali was no stranger to controversy during this period either. In 1933 he drew criticism from fellow Surrealists when he painted the face of Lenin in "The Enigma of William Tell". Some of Dali's contemporaries attempted to deface the work when it went on display, latter putting the artist on trial and banning him from attending future meetings of the clique.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
An artist obsessed with the subconscious mind, Dali was known to induce hallucinatory states in himself by a process he described as "paranoiac critical." What resulted were the dreamscapes, juxtaposing and deforming objects into beguiling works reminiscent of still life paintings.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Dali's doodles feature a number of horses, rearing and anatomically correct. They mark a divergence from the way the artist pictures them in many of his works: with elongated limbs in "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" and "Don Quixote", and muscular and melting in "Paranoiac Woman-Horse".
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Other objects from the heyday of Surrealism and Dadaism are on sale in the two day event at Sotheby's Paris. Among them are first editions owned by influential Surrealist Paul Eluard, including "Petite Anthologie poétique du Surréalisme" (1934) with an original etching by Pablo Picasso and autographs by Breton, Ernst, Char, Dalí, Eluard, Magritte, Delvaux, Miró, Soupault.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Alberto Giacometti's own first edition copy of "L'Air de l'Eau" (1934) is also up for sale, one of the first five copies on Japon nacre.
courtesy Sotheby's/Jean-Yves Dubois
Many Ray found fame with his rayographs -- objects placed directly on photosensitive paper and exposed to light. "Champs Délicieux" (1922) is being sold at Sotheby's; an extremely rare album limited to 40 copies with 12 original rayographs.

Story highlights

Previously unpublished diary of Salvador Dali goes on sale in Paris

Including original sketches, observations and impressions

Penned during a key period in the artist's career

CNN  — 

Inside the mind of Salvador Dali must have been a strange place to be. We saw snapshots in his artwork; raging ego warping the world to his will. How much more intimate, however, to dive into the pages of his diary.

On April 26, Sotheby’s in Paris is set to auction a previously unpublished autograph diary from the master of Surrealism, complete with numerous original drawings, notes and art reviews.

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The scribblings from the subconscious extraordinaire are rare access indeed. Penned in black, blue and red ink, his miniscule handwriting details thoughts both lofty and mundane, from impressions on art to lists of expenses. Barely legible, Dali’s notes wrap around nudes, horses and other obscure doodles – there’s even room for what looks like a crude penis.

Among what has been deciphered is a page of writing devoted to “cadavres exquis”, the address of filmmaker and friend of Surrealists Rene Clair and the name of Corti, a depository of the Surrealists’ publications.

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‘Persistence of Memory’

The book, currently owned by Bibliotheque R. & B. L., is believed to date from 1930-1935 and Sotheby’s estimates it will sell for between $45,000-$56,000 (€40,000-50,000) in an auction in partnership with Binoche and Giquello.

Courtesy of Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Salvador Dali negotiated fame and controversy throughout his prolific career.

In this period Dali created perhaps his most famous work, “The Persistence of Memory”, became acquainted with the works of Sigmund Freud and married his lover Gala – previously the wife of poet Paul Eluard.

He also attracted controversy. Displeased with the face of Lenin appearing in his 1933 work “The Enigma of William Tell”, Dali’s fellow Surrealists attempted to deface the work, put him on trial and expelled him from their meetings.

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The diary sits among a variety of historic objects from Surrealism and Dadaism to go on sale. Writers Aragon, Breton and Tzara and artists Kandinsky, Picasso, Ernst and Tanguy all feature in first editions belonging to Eluard, original drawings and rare photography books including “Champs delicieux” containing 12 of Man Ray’s rayographs – the latter believed to worth in the region of $135,000-$169,000 (€120,000-€150,000).

The auction will take place in the Galerie Charpentier on Rue Faubourg Saint-Honore, opposite the Elysee Palace on April 26-27 from 13:30 BST.