106 - Caring for a Surrealist Watch (Plate J, Memories of Surrealism), 1971

"Caring for a Surrealist Watch (Plate J)" is a photolithograph with collage and etching on Arches created by Salvador Dalí in 1971 for his series 'Memories of Surrealism'. From the edition of 500, the artwork is signed 'Dalí' lower right and annotated lower left. The artwork is framed in an ornate, gold-tone frame and has a framed size of 36 x 30". The artwork ships framed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

“Memories of Surrealism,” created in 1971, is one of Dalí’s most celebrated late print projects. This portfolio comprises 12 large-scale works executed in a sophisticated combination of photolithography, collage and etching on paper. Together, the suite functions as a retrospective homage to the Surrealist ethos that Dalí had helped create and that had shaped his entire artistic identity.

In this series, Dalí revisits the great motifs of his career, the melting forms, the erotic metamorphoses, the classical references, and the dreamlike juxtapositions, yet imbues them with the polished clarity that characterizes his mature style. Each image is a distillation of Surrealism’s core mission: to blend the familiar and the fantastic, the conscious and the subconscious, into a single visual language.

“The Memories of Surrealism” prints are remarkable for their diversity of imagery and technique. In some, Dalí stages uncanny transformations: heads become flowers or starfish; a Madonna cares for a melting watch; anatomical fragments float in impossible landscapes. In others, references to classical art—Athena/Minerva, angels, studies of birds’ eggs — are set against the backdrop of the subconscious mind.

The use of collage allows Dalí to layer real printed elements, engravings, textures, photographic details, into the compositions, while the etching component introduces delicate line and rich tonality. Photolithography lends a depth of color and fidelity of reproduction that makes each print shimmer with painterly nuance. The result is a portfolio that not only records Dalí’s memories of Surrealism but reinvents them in a fresh and tactile form.

More than a nostalgic exercise, these works demonstrate Dalí’s conviction that Surrealism was not merely a historical movement but a living force that could continue to evolve.

"Memories of Surrealism" distills decades of invention into 12 images that encapsulate the artist’s most enduring ideas and motifs. The combination of photolithography, collage, and etching demonstrates Dalí’s command of the print medium. Each technique contributes a unique texture and resonance, resulting in prints of exceptional richness and complexity. These prints are not just reflections on Dalí’s career but meditations on Surrealism’s transformative power. They remind us that dreams and memory are not secondary to reality but the very ground from which imagination arises.