The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali

Rating:
Summary: Unflatering Portrait of a Neurotic Genius
Review: Well researched revisionist biography of one of the century's great artists. As the title implies, the author suggests that a key to understanding Dali is his feelings of shame. Dali suffered from almost paralizing bouts of shame as a child, and struggled (not always successfully) to work around or overcompensate for them. Those with a casual interest in Dali should start off with the artist's own "The Secret Life of Salvador Dali" for many insights and a more entertaining read. The "Shamefull Life" tries to find the story behind the story. My biggest objection to this book is Gibson's almost total dismissal of Dali's art after 1940, which I fear is a prejudice based more on politics than the Dali's art itself.