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NGV Campaign to Acquire Salvador Dalí's 1946 Painting 'Trilogy of the Desert: Mirage'

institutional · 2026-03-20

The National Gallery of Victoria is initiating a fundraising effort in 2018 to purchase Salvador Dalí's 1946 work 'Trilogy of the Desert: Mirage', aiming to become the first public collection in Melbourne to own a painting by the Surrealist artist. This piece, created during Dalí's transformative period in the United States, reflects his shift toward Catholicism and Nuclear Mysticism. It was originally part of a triptych commissioned by William Lightfoot Schultz for a perfume brand. The acquisition would enhance the NGV's representation of Surrealism and Dalí's legacy. The article, published in NGV Magazine in January/February 2018, includes details on Dalí's life and career.

Key facts

  • The National Gallery of Victoria launched a fundraising campaign in 2018 to acquire Salvador Dalí's 1946 painting 'Trilogy of the Desert: Mirage'.
  • This acquisition would make the NGV the first public collection in Melbourne to own a Dalí painting.
  • The painting was commissioned in 1946 by William Lightfoot Schultz for the Desert Flower perfume brand.
  • Dalí created the work during his time in the United States, where he embraced Catholicism and developed his Nuclear Mysticism theory.
  • The other two paintings in the triptych, 'The invisible lovers' and 'Oasis', are held in private collections.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Locations

  • Melbourne
  • Figueres
  • Spain
  • Cadaqués
  • Paris
  • United States
  • New York
  • London
  • Puból

Sources