Until 1971, A. Reynolds and Eleanor R. Morse displayed their entire collection of Dalí artwork in their home in Cleveland, Ohio. When they agreed to loan over 200 pieces to a New York Dalí retrospective in 1965, however, they realized that a quarter-century of collecting had produced a mini retrospective in its own right and really needed and deserved its own permanent home.

Dalí originally encouraged the Morses to build a museum in New York, describing it as "one marvelous ideal" [sic]. He also suggested that such a museum should have "walls that breathe and pulse imperceptibly, moved by a pneumatic apparatus." The Morses, however, decided to build the museum near home, adjacent to their new Injection Molders Supply Company office building in Beachwood, Ohio.

The museum opened amid great fanfare in 1971—Dalí himself presided over the opening—but by the mid 70's the overwhelming number of visitors made the Morses realize that their collection had, once again, outgrown its home.

As they began a nationwide search for a permanent home, the Morses offered to donate the entire collection to a museum to preserve the collection's historical integrity. Several museums expressed interest but could not provide optimal stewardship for the most comprehensive collection of original Dalí artwork in the world. The Wall Street Journal picked up on the Morse's unusual situation, and as "Art World Dilly Dallies over Dalís" hit the newsstands on January 18, 1980, the collection's future once again hung in the balance.

When St. Petersburg attorney James W. Martin learned via The Wall Street Journal that art collectors A. Reynolds and Eleanor R. Morse were offering their collection of original Salvador Dalí artwork to a permanent home, he quickly organized a dynamic group of community leaders to bring the museum to St. Petersburg and Florida. Events moved rapidly as the Dalí Task Force received immediate and enthusiastic support from all levels of city and state government. Seeing this support, and excited by how the local tourist trade would mean more exposure for Dalí's work, the Morses agreed that St. Petersburg would be an ideal home for their collection.

By mid 1980, two independent foundations were established to receive and manage the collection on behalf of the people of Florida, and the state legislature had appropriated $2 million for the museum's building and an additional $1 million to cover the first five years of the museum's operational expenses. An existing marine storage warehouse situated on Bayboro Harbor—a locale which reminded the Morses of Cadaques, Dalí's childhood home on the Mediterranean Sea—was quickly renovated and expanded to incorporate gallery space, a lobby, museum store, and offices.

The Salvador Dalí Museum officially opened to the public on March 10, 1982, and since that time has attracted millions of visitors from around the world (six out of every ten come from outside the U.S.). In January of 1989, the museum opened the Raymond James Community Room, a two-story, 11,000 square foot addition used for museum programming, lectures, workshops, and independent private functions. And in 1995 major renovations to the original gallery space added interior walls to form six galleries and 125% more exhibit space for visiting exhibitions and the museum's collection which now consists of 96 oils, 100+ watercolors and drawings, and over 1,300 graphics, sculptures, objects d'art, and photographs.

Today, together with Dalí's own museum in Spain, the Theatre-Museu Gala-Salvador Dalí our two institutions constitute the most comprehensive collections of the artists work and research archives in the world. The Dalí Museum St. Petersburg is a global community treasure in Florida.

Click here to read more about Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, the Museum's founders...

A. Reynolds and Eleanor R. Morse begin their marriage and their lifelong involvement with Dali and his wife, Gala, as friends and collectors.

The Morses open their Museum in Ohio. Ten years later, they begin the search for a new, permanent home for their collection. After seeing an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Art World Dilly-Dallies over Dali”, local leaders persuade the Morses to choose St. Petersburg. With the financial support of the City of St. Petersburg and the State of Florida, the collection moves to Florida.

The Museum opens its doors in St. Petersburg Florida, with the Morse bequest - the most comprehensive private collection of Dali’s work in the world. The Museum’s extensive archival library is key to the advances in academic research on topics from Dali to Surrealism.

To accommodate growing attendance, an 11,000 square-foot addition is added to the building.

The Museum acquires Galacidalacidesoxiribunucleicacid, 1963 the 1st major addition to the collection to supplement the Morse collection.

The Museum begins a program of loaning works and hosting changing exhibitions. Museum purchases Portrait of My Dead Brother, 1963.

Dali Museum creates the first stage of an academic study center, Dali center for the Avant-garde, and signs cooperative agreement with USF to develop scholarship and instructional opportunities.

The Museum purchases Venus de Milo with Drawers, 1936.

The Museum honors the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Dali with a grand exhibition titled Dali Centennial: An American Collection. Dali museum takes leadership in international Centennial celebration hosting the first academic conference on Dali in America – Persistence and Memory: New Critical Perspectives on Dali at the Centennial.

St. Petersburg voters in referendum approve extension of Dali lease and move of the Museum to the Bayfront Center.

The Museum purchases Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes A Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 1976.

The Museum lends works of its collection to a highly successful Dali exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

State of Florida awards $4M grant for new facility.

Dali hires HOK architects in Tampa to plan new facility.