ST. PETERSBURG, FL.- Beginning September 21, 2007, the Salvador Dalí Museum will welcome three important Dalí works on loan from the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation in Spain. The unique exchange between the organizations with the two top Dalí collections in the world will also send three paintings from St. Petersburg’s permanent collection to Spain.

Presented in St. Petersburg for the first time are: Group of Women Imitating the Gestures of a Schooner (1940), a work that signals Dalí’s growing interest in Baroque and Mannerist painting; The Ascension of St. Cecilia (1955), a prime example of his nuclear mysticism; and The Swallow’s Tail – Series on Catastrophe (1983), based on the mathematical “catastrophe theory.” The borrowed works will be on display through January 20, 2008.

Considered his final work, The Swallow’s Tail – Series on Catastrophe will be displayed for the first time ever alongside the artist’s first known work, Landscape (1910-14), allowing for a unique comparison of Dalí’s undeniable natural abilities and his metamorphosis. Landscape, a recent acquisition of the Salvador Dalí Museum is believed to be the artist’s earliest surviving painting. Produced when Dalí was just between six and ten years old, the small, but striking work shows a sophistication unheard of for such a young artist and suggests the brilliance that Dalí will exhibit in the future.

The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation (Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí) is a private cultural institution located in Figueres, Spain, with the mission to promote, protect and defend the artistic, cultural and intellectual oeuvre of Salvador Dalí. The Foundation manages various collections of works by Dalí, including those permanently on display at the Teatre-Museu Dalí in Figures.

In addition to the visiting works from Spain, the Dalí Museum is currently presenting Dalí in Focus, examining selected Dalí paintings section by section to uncover the historical, spiritual and psychological themes within each piece, and the dreams, desires and memories that inspired them. Also on display through November 18 in the Raymond James Community Room Gallery is Dalí’s Biblia Sacra, Dalí’s Bible illustrations that are part of one of his most prized print collections.

Exhibitions are made possible by Progress Energy, whose continued support for arts in the community provides a benchmark for corporate engagement. Progress Energy has been a generous supporter of the Salvador Dalí Museum’s educational programs and exhibitions since 2002, and is the museum's sponsor for the entire 2006-2007 exhibition season.

The Salvador Dalí Museum, which holds the pre-eminent American collection of the artist’s work and celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2007, is sponsored in part by the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department, the City of St. Petersburg, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Arts Council. For more information about the Salvador Dalí Museum, please visit the Museum web site at www.SalvadorDaliMuseum.org or call (800) 442-3254.