Review of Sight and Insight by Salvador Dali

dali

Almost demoniacally, Freud penetrates a work of art. Malraux mingles it with his own anguish. Between these poles of promiscuity, Eliot’s moral attitude is original: Chastity; he loves art without violating her, he is intimate without so much as a touch. And just as Gala is in all my work, Eliot’s partner lives in his.
-Salvador Dali

Life Celebration for Alexander Eliot at Figtree’s Cafe April 28th 2015 (Part Two)

Part Two. The family and friends of Alexander Eliot gathered on Tuesday, April 28th, at Figtree’s Cafe on the boardwalk in Venice, for a celebration of Alex’s life.

The wonderful staff at the “Fig” graciously welcomed us to enjoy “the Alex” breakfast: a blueberry pancake and coffee. Alex and Jane went to the Fig every morning for breakfast for nearly 30 years, and after Jane’s death Alex continued the tradition. The cafe is a perfect place to honor him on what would have been his 96th birthday.

This was not a formal service; it’s simply an occasion to commemorate the great man who meant so much to us. Video courtesy of Steven DePaola.

Life Celebration for Alexander Eliot at Figtree’s Cafe April 28th 2015 (Part One)

The family and friends of Alexander Eliot gathered on Tuesday, April 28th, at Figtree’s Cafe on the boardwalk in Venice, for a celebration of Alex’s life. The wonderful staff at the “Fig” graciously welcomed us to enjoy “the Alex” breakfast: a blueberry pancake and coffee. Alex and Jane went to the Fig every morning for breakfast for nearly 30 years, and after Jane’s death Alex continued the tradition. The cafe is a perfect place to honor him on what would have been his 96th birthday. This was not a formal service; it’s simply an occasion to commemorate the great man who meant so much to us. Video courtesy of Steven DePaola.

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Evidence of the Eyes: An Interview with Alexander Eliot

In the landmark 1967/8 documentary, The  Secret  of  Michelangelo,  Every  Man’s  Dream, Alexander Eliot, painter and former art critic and editor for Time magazine states that “almost everything we saw on the barrel  vault  came  clearly  from  Michelangelo’s  own  inspired  hand.  There  are  passages  of  the  finest,  the   most  delicately  incisive  draughtsmanship  imaginable.”  The film, produced by Capital Cities Broadcasting Corporation, directed by Milton Fruchtman, written by Alexander Eliot and narrated by Christopher Plummer and Zoe Caldwell, provided a brief, one hour tour of the expansive Sistine ceiling. Through the use of close-ups, audiences were presented with details of the fresco never seen before, details that were impossible to grasp at great distance.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Alexander Eliot about the film, the chapel, and his fight against the cleaning, which began in 1981. –

See the entire interview here.