Booth Shares Title

Who was Elena Diakonova, a.k.a. Gala, the mysterious and inseparable companion of Paul Éluard, and then of Salvador Dalí? Beautiful and solitary, was she living in an enclosed inner world – her closely guarded secret – or was she a dangerous and disturbing femme fatale? She was no doubt a major influence on the works of these two major 20th century artists and part of their genius. Paul Éluard, her first husband, became a poet while they were together. Dalí dedicated his life to her, as well as a significant number of his paintings. Between relationships with these two men, an interlude with the painter Max Ernst reinforces the feeling that this exceptional woman, who never became a writer, sculptor or painter herself, had within her a deep commitment to Art – and to this effect, an often dazzling intuition. The illustrated and well-documented biography of this legendary figure attempts to uncover the mystery of this unsung personality, in creative terms, the ‘midwife’ of great artists. It also sheds a fresh light on the surrealist adventure, in providing a behind-the-scene look at the most famous poets and painters, Éluard, Dalí and their friends, their love entanglements, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.