New Dalí Book Causes Uproar in Spain

MADRID—The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation has vowed to take legal action against Stan Lauryssens, the author of a new book about Salvador Dalí, the Times (London) reports. In Dalí & I: The Surreal Story, Lauryssens claims that the artist authorized thousands of forgeries of his own work during his later years, as a means of funding his lavish lifestyle. Lauryssens also recounts stories of Dalí's supposed orgies with young actresses and claims that the artist's trademark mustache was fake.

The book, which is being turned into a movie starring Al Pacino, has spurred widespread anger in Spain.

The Belgian-born Lauryssens is a former art dealer who made a fortune selling real and fake artworks to wealthy people who wanted to launder money. He was Dalí's only neighbor in the Catalonian village of Cadaqués before he was arrested for selling fake artworks. He has since become a crime writer.