Public protest and dramatic attack - the story behind Glasgow's famous Dali painting

Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross has survived public protest, controversy and even, once, a vicious attack.

Seventy years ago this week, Glasgow Corporation approved the purchase of the celebrated artwork – now worth many millions of pounds.

“It was hugely controversial,” agrees Dr Joanna Meacock, Curator of British Art for Glasgow Museums.

“Tom Honeyman, who was the director of Kelvingrove at the time, had seen the painting in Lefevre’s gallery in London in December, 1951.

“He had seen its impact, the incredible allure of this painting, and had thought it would be good for Glasgow.

“He went back to Glasgow Corporation and talked them into buying it – he actually negotiated a price of £8200, much less than the £12,000 asking price.”

Joanna adds, with a smile: “Honeyman was incredibly canny, and with huge foresight also negotiated the full copyright.

“So although this was a lot of money for the Corporation to spend at the time, having the copyright meant it has actually paid for itself many times over and of course, now, it is worth tens of millions of pounds.”

She adds: “It is also worth pointing out that the painting could have easily gone to Basle or Madrid where it was being exhibited after London.

“If Honeyman had not seen the painting in Lefevre’s gallery, it would have been snapped up by a European institution and it would never have come to Glasgow.”

There was a huge backlash to the purchase, and from some unexpected quarters, says Joanna.

“Glasgow School of Art students were unhappy about it, because they thought the money could have been spent on budding young local artists,” she points out.

“Glasgow University felt if that kind of money was going to be spent on a Dali, it should have been one of his surrealist works, not this religious piece…so there was a lot of controversy.”

The Evening Times on January 24, 1952, described how a “deputation of five students with a protest petition” was refused a hearing in person by the committee.

“The views of the students had been clearly indicated in their letter and he [committee convenor] thought no useful purpose would be served in receiving the deputation,” we reported.

The article continued: “A reference in the letter to a ‘shameful waste of public money’ drew from Councillor Kelly the comment that, although it was in a sense public money, he would make it clear the proposal to finance the purchase of the picture was on the basis that it would come from the 1901 Glasgow Exhibition surplus fund.”

Honeyman stuck to his guns, however, and the purchase was approved.

As a result, he developed quite a friendship with Dali, who at one point even described Tom as the ‘Don Quixote of the museum world’,” says Joanna.

“It is unlikely Dali ever came to Glasgow - Honeyman kept asking him, but he didn’t want to travel.”

She adds: “In the early 60s, Honeyman visited Dali in Barcelona with the agreement the artist would come to Glasgow in return, but he never did.”

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Hung, unglazed, in the east gallery of Kelvingrove, the painting hit the headlines once again when in 1961, a young man damaged it with a stone and it had to be repaired.

Now it remains one of the biggest draws of Glasgow’s art collection, attracting visitors from all over the world.

“People come because it is Dali, others for devotional reasons,” says Joanna.

“It has its own space, because of that, which is also unusual in the museum collection.

“There is a lot of passion around this painting, and it is clear there always has been.”