11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist famous for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and noticeable and bizarre images in his work.

Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí completed his formal studies in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its main supporters. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was finished in August 1931, and is one of the most popular Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He came back to Spain in 1948 where he declared his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments

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