Salvador Dalí's Christ of St John of the Cross

This iconic painting relocates to a new gallery

Scotland's favourite painting has a new home in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

The new larger gallery space creates two contrasting ways of experiencing Dalí's modern masterpiece.

Visitors can enjoy an improved viewing experience with more space to spend time with the painting. The new location has a quiet contemplative space for reflection, and an enhanced digital interpretation, which reveals insights into Dalí's creative process. 

The new location is on the ground floor.

You enter the display through Looking at Art.

Take a look at our floor plan

The new display offers a closer look at how Dalí developed his ideas through moving imagery inspired by his working drawings and the landscape that inspired the painting. Dalí's own words explain how the masterpiece came to life, famously coming to him in two 'cosmic dreams'.

The digital interpretation in the gallery runs for four minutes, followed by four minutes of silence, before repeating.

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How we look after one of Glasgow's best loved paintings

Take a look at how Glasgow Life Museums have looked after this much loved painting in this short video.

Black-and-white photograph of two men standing side by side at a stone seawall overlooking a calm coastal inlet with rocky islands in the background. The man on the left has dark, shoulder-length hair and a thin mustache, with a cigarette or cigarillo in his mouth, while the man on the right has short white hair and smiles toward the camera, holding a pair of eyeglasses. Both wear light-colored jackets, and the scene appears to have been taken on a bright day by the water.

Salvador Dalí and Dr TJ Honeyman

Dr TJ Honeyman (pictured with Salvador Dalí) was the former
Director of Glasgow Art Galleries who purchased the painting for the city in 1952. The painting remains one of the biggest treasures in the city's collection.

More on Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí inspired gifts available now in our online shop

Discover prints, jewellery and books.

A necklace, earrings and a brooch featuring tones of blue and gold

Find out more about Salvador Dalí's Christ of St John of the Cross

Discover more from the Collections database

Salvador Dalí: Stories Behind a Masterpiece audio tour

Download the Bloomberg app and listen to the audio tour next time you visit the museum

Images: 

Christ of St John of the Cross, Salvador Dalí, 1951 © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

Photograph of Salvador Dalí and Dr TJ Honeyman © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums and Libraries Collection.