Surrealists Expelled Dalí in 1934 for Alleged Fascist Sympathies

In 1934, the Surrealist movement, led by André Breton, put Salvador Dalí on trial and expelled him for 'the glorification of Hitlerian fascism.' The trigger was Dalí's painting 'The Enigma of William Tell,' which depicted Lenin in a disrespectful manner, and his earlier work 'The Weaning of Furniture-Nutrition,' which originally included a swastika on a nurse's armband—later painted out under pressure. Dalí had also made provocative statements about Hitler, claiming he dreamed of Hitler as a woman and that Hitler embodied 'the perfect image of the great masochist.' Art historian Robin Adèle Greeley notes that Dalí's paintings may have subverted fascist ideologies, but Breton and the Surrealists, mostly communists, did not appreciate the ambiguity. Dalí defended himself, saying, 'I am hitlerian neither in fact nor in intention,' and argued that Nazis would burn his work. Despite the expulsion, Dalí continued to produce works like 'The Enigma of Hitler' (1939), which critics interpret as psychoanalytic commentary on Hitler's fears. George Orwell later called Dalí 'a disgusting human being' but acknowledged his 'exceptional gifts.' Dalí also admired Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, calling him 'the greatest hero of Spain,' and was friends with Nazi-sympathizer Wallis Simpson. The article, originally published in 2018, revisits the debate over separating art from the artist.