Salvador Dali

While the collection of the Brandywine River Museum of Art contains no photographic portraits, this painting by Otto Duecker reminds us how the camera changed portraiture forever, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Photography’s democratizing effect on portraiture resonates yet today with the ubiquitous selfie taken on a smart phone. Duecker cleverly brings photography into the realm of fine art by recreating, with hyper-realistic detail, a painting of a photograph of Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, which appears to be taped to the wall. Dalí’s lifelong quest to challenge perception is celebrated here in Duecker’s deceitful painting.