On display at a private exhibition in New York are a rare series of prints of paintings by the non-Jewish Spanish artist, entitled “Aliyah, the Rebirth of Israel.” Lea Speyer writes:
The paintings were commissioned by Shorewood Publishers in 1967 for the 20th anniversary of the state of Israel. The set comprises 25 mixed-media paintings highlighting important religious, historical, and political moments in Jewish history. The series received a special endorsement from David Ben-Gurion.
“The distinguished artist Salvador Dalí has succeeded through the power of his great artistry in embodying in a number of prints the marvel of aliyah, which in a short time fashioned a renewed people, a renewed country, and a renewed—as well as renewing—state,” Ben-Gurion wrote in a letter on display with the collection. Shorewood exhibited the original series in a New York museum, but each piece was eventually sold to private collectors. Their locations remain unknown to this day. . . .
Each painting is accompanied by a biblical verse originally assigned to each work by the artist.
More about: Art, Arts & Culture, David Ben-Gurion, Hebrew Bible, Zionism