Alex Rosenberg, Los Angeles
Howard Russeck, Palm Beach
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Franco Parsoni, Reynolds Morese & Albert Field, Dalí nella terza dimensione, Milan, 1986, illustration of another cast
Robert & Nicolas Descharnes, Dalí Sculptures & Objects, The Hard and the Soft, Paris, 2004, no. 599, illustration of another cast p. 232

Work is in very good condition. Surface is slightly dirty. There are a few minor nicks and surface scratches to the bronze figure. Some of the copper wire is oxidizing slightly, particularly where it meets with the bronze. Some plaster accretions in some of the crevices of the musical instrument, otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1970 Dalí decided to construct a sculpture to commemorate the completion of the portfolio Memories of Surrealism with Alex Rosenberg. In a letter dated March 4, 1977, Rosenberg writes, "In typical Dalí fashion, he began to gather what appeared to be random objects from around his home and put them together while remarking that he believed they would make an attractive sculpture. Knowing Dalí, I realized that this was a performance being acted out for my benefit and that he had long before my visit worked out the details of what he intended to create." Dalí cast a terracotta toreador in bronze along with a toreador hat, as well as a drum that Rosenberg found at Hammacher Schlemmer. Finally Dalí incorporated a non-sensical musical instrument that he had created earlier but had yet to use.

Rosenberg writes of the meaning of the sculpture: "According to Dalí's explanation to me, 'The Toreador dances to the music of the people (the horn, the hat and the drum), he is adulated and spoon fed by the public (the sterling silver spoons), but at any moment it can all be cut off (the scissors).'"

Robert Descharnes later wrote, "This statue is not a transposition of the painting of the same name. What links the two, however, is the theme of the toreador and Dalí's procedure of hallucinatory apparitions...There is probably no more appropriate figure to represent Spain than a toreador. In his suit of lights, he faces us wearing his traditional hat, the montera. The hallucination comes across when, forced to look at the piece in its entirety, we finally perceive, although the face is hidden under the saxophone, the eyes and the mouth of the toreador in the grip of the scissors and the tube of the musical instrument. There is another, even more subtle hallucination: doesn't the crowd of spectators seem to surge from the spoons and the music blare from the copper on the drum" (Robert & Nicolas Descharnes, op. cit., p. 232)?