Lot 68

Private collection, Paris
Thence by decent

Michler, R., Löpsinger, W. L., Salvador Dali, Catalogue Raisonné of Prints: Lithographs and Wood Engravings, 1956-1980, vol. II, New York, 1995, cat. no. 1193-1217, pp. 124-127 (illus., another impression)
Field, A., The Official Catalogue of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali, New York, 1996, cat. no. 68-I, pp. 152-154 (illus., another impression)

Comprising: Aliyah; A Voice is heard in Ramah; The Wailing Wall; For it is Thy Life and the Length of Thy Days; Return, O virgin of Israel; We Shall Go Up at Once and Possess It; Let Them Have Dominion; The Pioneers of Israel; On the Shores of Freedom; Arise, Barak, and Lead Thy Captives; The Land at the Start of Jewish Settlement; The Land Come to Life; The Land of Milk and Honey; Out of the Depths; Thou Hast Laid Me in the Nethermost Pit; Yea Through I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow and Death; I have Set Before Thee Life and Death; A Moment in History: David Ben Gurion Reading the Declaration of Independence; Hatikvah: Israel's National Anthem; Orah, Horah: Lights of Joy; Angels of Rebirth; The Battle of the Jerusalem Hills; Victory: A Song of Thanksgiving; The Price - Bereavement; Covenant Eternal: Circumcision.

Suite is in the original green linen-covered portfolio with cover image and printed title in white, published by Shorewood Inc., New York.

In 1968, Salvador Dali was commissioned to commemorate the twenty year anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. His series, known as Aliyah, originally consisted of 25 works on paper ranging from gouache, to watercolours and ink. These were then reproduced and published into a limited edition series of lithographs presented in an original folio with an introduction by one of Israel's founding figure heads, David Ben-Gurion. At the time, the artist was no stranger to working on commission-based projects; one such work consisted of over one-hundred watercolours illustrating Dante's Divine Comedy, authorised and paid for by the Italian government.

The literal translation of the term "aliyah" means migration to the land of Israel. In Hebrew, the word may be translated to mean an ascent. This ascension considers both a geographical one - as Israel sits on a higher altitude than the land around it - as well as a metaphysical and spiritual one. These different connotations of the term aliyah are explored through Dali's prints, drawing inspiration from scenes in the Old Testament. In line with his unique style, the artist has simultaneously interwoven his own iconic imagery through a number of plates. Exemplified in plate 4, We Shall Go Up at Once and Possess It, Dali has drawn inspiration from the text in which Moses sends twelve spies to observe the land and its forces before attempting to conquer it. Dali's depiction of the nude form hearkens back to his iconic work, Tuna Fishing (1967), dating from the same period. This imagery is further explored in plate 10, Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over every creeping thing. Inspired by the Old Testament text referring to God giving humans dominion over creation, Dali's depictions of sea creatures reflects similar imagery explored throughout his oeuvre.

Noelle Martin
Art Assistant

© Salvador Dali, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dali.VEGAP/Copyright Agency, 2023