Persistence of Memory

Disintegration of Persistence of Memory 1952
Persistence of Memory 1931

The year is 1971. I woke up this morning thinking about my most famous painting. I painted The Persistence of Memory in 1931. I had no idea that it would become one of the most celebrated and recognized paintings of the 20th century. I called this a hand-painted dream photograph. It can be read as a landscape, a still-life, and a self-portrait....all at the same time. Many critics said my painting was irrational, alarming, nonsensical, and mad! Although, little do they know, to a surrealist these adjectives are the highest of praise! That is exactly the reaction that I was going for. I wanted them to be shocked and baffled when they saw my masterpiece. Melted watches appeared on many of my paintings after this one. In 1954 I revised the original Persistence of Memory and titled the new painting The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory. This work was significant because it represents how my life and art changed after World War II (Lubar 136-137).