The Persistence of Memory Auction History

1931: Painted by Salvador Dalí and first exhibited at Galerie Pierre Colle, Paris [2].

1931–1932: Acquired by the Julien Levy Gallery, New York, from Pierre Colle; Levy owned the work by early 1932 [2][3]. Numerous accounts report Levy paid about $250 [5].

1934: Purchased from Julien Levy by Helen Lansdowne Resor specifically to donate to MoMA; MoMA records the gift as “Given anonymously” [1][2]. Published figures for the 1934 purchase vary between $350 and $400; MoMA does not list a price [6][7][1].

1934–present: In the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York [1].

This painting has no auction record; it has been in MoMA’s collection since 1934 after an anonymous gift (identified by the Dalí Foundation as Helen Lansdowne Resor) [1][2]. Its museum placement—just three years after it was painted—helped cement Dalí’s U.S. reputation and turned the image into one of modern art’s most recognizable icons [8]. The absence of auction history is typical for canonical works that entered institutions early, thereby limiting supply and shaping the artist’s market primarily through comparables rather than direct sales of the masterpiece itself.

The early private prices echo the young Surrealist market: dealer Julien Levy reportedly acquired the painting for about $250 around 1931–1932 [5], and secondary sources cite $350–$400 for the 1934 purchase made to facilitate the gift to MoMA (the museum does not publish a figure) [6][7][1]. Such low early valuations and rapid institutional acquisition demonstrate how quickly the work’s cultural value outpaced its initial market value, with philanthropic patronage playing a decisive role in its trajectory.

For market benchmarks, collectors look to major Dalí paintings that have traded publicly, such as Portrait de Paul Éluard (1929), which set the artist’s painting auction record at Sotheby’s London in 2011 (£13.48 million; approx. $21.7 million) [9]. While differing in subject, date, and scale, that result underscores the depth of demand for prime-period Dalí. By contrast, The Persistence of Memory’s long-term residency at MoMA means its market significance is expressed through influence and visibility rather than price; its ubiquity and sustained scholarship continue to bolster confidence in high-quality Surrealist works by Dalí across the market [1][2][8].