Police raid Salvador Dalí exhibition and seize 21 artworks in major forgery probe
The works were part of an exhibition that has been on display for months
The Italian art police have seized 21 artworks, purportedly by famed surrealist Salvador Dalí, on suspicion that they are forgeries.
The works were part of an exhibition called “Salvador Dalí, tra arte e mito” (”Salvador Dalí, between art and myth”).
It opened last week at the Palazzo Tarasconi in Parma, after several months on display in Rome.
Italy’s carabinieri art squad said that while the show was open in Rome, it had received a report from the Fundaciòn Gala - Salvador Dalí about suspected anomalies in some of the works.
The artist created the non-profit foundation in 1983 to “promote, foster, disseminate, enhance, and defend Dalí’s world worldwide”, according to the foundation’s website.
On Wednesday morning, with a judge’s warrant, the police seized 21 works from the Parma museum, including tapestries, drawings and engravings.
Police stressed that the investigation was continuing.
With his whimsical creations, Dalí is among the most-forged artists worldwide, along with Pablo Picasso and Amadeo Modigliani, according to ArtNews.
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