Salvador Dali Museum Grounds and Gift Shop

The first impression of the Dali Museum comes from the impressive exterior. The new Salvador Dali Museum, opened in early 2011, is an impressive structure of concrete and glass that is designed to be a tribute to Dali’s style. Built into the concrete of the building are large stones, naturally found in Florida. Aside from the building being visually unique, it is also designed to protect the priceless Dali art collection inside from potential hurricanes. At the back of the museum are tables and chairs under large umbrellas next to a beautiful, landscaped garden. A wishing tree is pinned with the adhesive wrist bands that serve as passes within the museum, while just beyond is a maze created by sculpted bushes. The garden area, the swirling patterns in the natural stone, the stark concrete walls, and the curving, multi-faceted windows succeed at impressing the visitors even before they have entered.

The doors open onto the gift shop, which is stocked with plenty of items related to Salvador Dali’s trademark works. Coffee cups, melting clocks, books of Dali art, T-shirts and hats, puzzles, and prints of Dali’s work to hang on your own walls are just some of the things you will find in the Dali Museum gift shop. Just beyond is the ticket counter, the museum café, and they centerpiece spiral staircase. The upper floor, on which you will find the art displayed, has an interior observation deck where you can peer over the harbor and marinas of St Petersburg, Florida, including the popular St Petersburg Pier and its iconic inverted pyramid building.

While all of these things are interesting in their own right, you will see them all before your reach the very best part, which is the gallery displaying the paintings of Salvador Dali.

How to Tour the Salvador Dali Museum

At the ticket counter of the Salvador Dali Museum each visitor is asked how he or she would like to experience the gallery. One can simply stroll the gallery viewing the art, of course, but two other options are available. A guided tour will explain the life of Salvador Dali, the history of the Morse family collection, and, of course, the individual paintings of the Dali collection. The third option is to use a pre-recorded audio tour with headsets. By tapping the number displayed next to some of the paintings, visitors get to hear about the painting’s history and how it related to Dali’s life, along with a brief interpretation of the piece. Regardless of which method you choose, the overall experience at the Salvador Dali Museum is guaranteed to be rewarding.

Salvador Dali Art Collection

The art inside the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida, is from the private collection of the Morse family. The Morse family collected the works of Dali for many years before deciding that a more formal setting than their home was needed. As you tour the gallery, you will see, up close, some of the most famous works of Salvador Dali. The gallery setting is a large room with high ceilings. Art is hung on the main walls and on solid partition walls that run down the center of the room. The partitions walls provide the sensation of being in your own space to observe the works of art. Nothing separates the visitors from the artwork, allowing you to get as close as you like to the paintings. The gallery offers the freedom to tour at your own pace, and to study the works of art from any angle or distance you choose. The generous arrangement leaves the visitor free to appreciate the remarkable paintings of Salvador Dali in a very personal fashion.

St Petersburg Museums

The downtown area of St Petersburg, Florida is home to the Salvador Dali Museum. Also on the waterfront, you will find the St Petersburg Museum of History, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Chihuly Collection.

Other posts you might enjoy:

Explore the Gulf Coast Dolphin Trail

Top Theme Parks near Clearwater Beach

Central Gulf Coast Museums