Salvador Dalí

Known for: The Persistence of Memory (1931); Surrealism

Salvador Dalí joined the Surrealist movement in 1929 and applied his meticulous academic technique to the representation of dreams and unconscious imagery in The Persistence of Memory (1931) and subsequent paintings that made him the most recognizable face of Surrealism internationally. He was expelled from the official Surrealist group by André Breton in 1934, largely for his political provocations. He spent his later decades in elaborate self-promotion, becoming as famous for his persona as for his paintings.