Vogue: What first drew you to Gala Dalí as a subject? Was there a particular moment when you knew her story would be your next book?
Michèle Gerber Klein: I was having lunch with Michael Stout at La Grenouille, where he used to have lunch with the Dalís when he was their lawyer in the 1970s, and he told me stories about Gala and said, “You know, you should write about her. She was a fascinating woman.” So, I did.
You’ve described this book as the first serious biography of Gala Dalí. How does Surreal add to our understanding of Gala?
Gala Dalí was neither a miser nor just a vixen. I tried to portray her as a real human being instead of just a sound bite. Naturally, one cannot know all her intimate thoughts and feelings, but I wanted to unmask as many aspects of her layered personality as I possibly could.
How did you go about researching someone so enigmatic—and so mythologized? Were there any archival surprises or discoveries that reshaped your narrative?
I went to primary sources. I sought out what she wrote in her memoirs. I read what others said about her, and I spoke to her childhood friends, past lovers, her granddaughter—who no one had ever interviewed before—and Dick Cavett, who, for his TV show, did an interview with Dalí and his anteater, for which Gala picked out her husband’s wardrobe.
I also went to the Gala–Salvador Dalí Foundation in Figueres, Spain, and looked through all they could pull together for me, including her collection of couture dresses and the clothing she designed herself or had copied by her dressmaker. I sent images to the Costume Institute for identification. I went through papers and letters at the Foundation and had several lunches with Montse Aguer, their director, during which we compared our impressions of Gala. I also reached out to a psychiatrist to discuss her bond with Salvador and how they fell in love to make sure what I was writing about her emotions rang true.
