Lincoln in Dalivision

Lincoln in Dalivision
Artist	Salvador Dalí (1977)
Owner	Levine & Levine 1976

Lincoln in Dalivision is an original limited edition lithograph created by Salvador Dalí. It is often considered one of the most counterfeited Dalí lithographs. Dalí authentication experts who have noted the counterfeiting issue with this work include Albert Field (The Official Catalog of Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí – authorized by Dalí), Frank Hunter (Dalí Archives – authorized by Dalí), Robert Descharnes (French photographer, long-term friend and associate of Salvador Dalí) and Bernard Ewell (Bernard Ewell Art Appraisals, LLC). Lee Catterall comments in his book The Great Dalí Art Fraud & other deceptions, "The painting most commonly reproduced for such fraudulent purposes was Lincoln in Dalivision, 'prints' of which Los Angeles art appraiser Dena Hall testified in the Hawaii trial have become as commonplace as 'pancakes at the pancake house.'"

Lincoln in Dalivision was created based on the Dalí painting Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at a distance of 20 meters is transformed into the portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko). Dalí painted two original versions of this painting spanning from 1974 – 1976, which are similar but not exactly the same. The first resides in the Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres, Spain. The second resides in the permanent collection of The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. This painting is the basis for the Lincoln in Dalivision lithograph. Prior to the acquisition by The Salvador Dalí Museum, the painting resided in Japan.

Dalí's paintings Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at a distance of 20 meters is transformed into the portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko), and the original Lincoln in Dalivision lithographs produced from these paintings were some of the first examples of the photomosaic artistic approach by a recognized artist. "The Recognition of Faces," by Leon Harmon (Scientific American, November 1973) was the first published work on photomosaic concepts. Harmon was a Bell Labs researcher who had been developing this concept, and the first image in this article was the well-recognized portrait of Abraham Lincoln from the U.S. five dollar bill made from a collection of solid gray mosaics. Dalí began his first painting that led to Lincoln in Dalivision in 1974 and finished the version that would be used for Lincoln in Dalivision in 1976. Harmon's Lincoln mosaic was the basis for all of Dalí's Lincoln photomosaics, which is evident by comparing the solid gray mosaics from Harmon's paper and the final works of art by Dalí.

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