Dali, Salvador (Spanish, 1904-1989), La Grotte Vertebree, c.1936, gouache on black board, signed and inscribed in pencil on verso, 8 x 5 inches (20.6 x 13 cm). This is one of several gouaches that Dali made in preparation for his 1937 oil painting Anatomies. Provenance: Paul Eluard (acquired from the artist); Dominique Eluard; Galerie Kleinman; B. B. Lewin; Sotheby's auction, Sale 5324, May 15, 1985, Lot 226 (includes original sales receipt and correspondence with Sotheby's director); Patricia and Darrell Ray Dumont; private collection, Pittsburgh, by descent. Inscription on verso reads: Titre au choix - La Grotte Vertebree, Jaillissement dans la nuit, Dentelle de reve, Desharmonie coloree, Pretexte a contrastes, Serait-ce un masque? Futilite, Horrible grace, Plus Joli que du futurisme, Tendre squelette, Precieux objet, etc... Hasta Manana, Until Dawn, Jusqu'a l'aurore [Title of your choice - La Grotte Vertebree, Burst into the night, Dream lace, Colored disharmony, Pretext for contrasts, Would it be a mask? Futility, Horrible grace, Prettier than futurism, Tender skeleton, Precious object, etc... Until Tomorrow, Until Dawn, Until dawn]. See Descharnes, 1984, page 177 for an illustration of a related gouache.