Original Dali
I have an original Dali. Its a cheque, written by him in 1978. I stole it from a restaurant in Spain, somewhere in Catalina.

He lived in the area and frequented the local hostelries in the area. He notoriously paid for a lot of things - including meals - with a cheque. Always signed with a flourish, and a tiny little sketch. He knew full well that no one would ever cash those cheques. A lot of places that recieved these cheques put them up on the wall in frames - or in this case, in a small plastic folder next to the till.

No-one saw me take it 18 years ago. It is well hidden, in storage and not in the house. One day I'll sell it.
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Fri 9 May 2008, 13:42, 10 replies)

err
I don't know if Mr Coke really did steal one of these cheques but his backstory is true.

Dali really did paper most of Spain with them..

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 9 May 2008, 14:14, closed)

cheers leggy
i like peer reviewed QOTW answers!

(sorry about the leggy bit)
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Fri 9 May 2008, 14:18, closed)

To make more money
just wait till he dies and then flog it, it'll be worth a mint
(triscrote E's are good?, Fri 9 May 2008, 14:52, closed)

He died in 1989
silly.
( chenobble rocking his explorer beard on, Fri 9 May 2008, 15:13, closed)

But it's a cheque...
... so it'll have the name of the restaurant on it, won't it? Are you not worried that you'll get a visit from an enraged Spanish restaurateur when you finally try to flog it?
(richardm, Fri 9 May 2008, 15:17, closed)

Am I the only one
a little troubled by this? I mean, swiping an original artwork, even if it was a throw-away, is still art theft.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 9 May 2008, 15:52, closed)

When asked
what it meant to be Pablo Picasso, the artist answered by taking a $10 bill, signing it, and then saying "It's now worth $50. That's what it feels like to be Picasso".

Strange, isn't it - I mean, people were stealing Tracy Emin's "I've lost my cat" posters the other year...

Why *do* people pay out big money for autographs ? Never understood this.
( I_Was_Mordred, Fri 9 May 2008, 15:53, closed)

richardm
that is a *fucking* good point. I hadnt thought of that. Seriously. Shit. That'll learn me to nick stuff when i was 16 - Loon - hope that helps with the whole art theft thing. It wasnt art theft back then, it was 'teenage hi jinx'. Or something. In the same way that I dont steal televsion off of the internet. I call it BitTorrent fun.
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Fri 9 May 2008, 15:56, closed)

It does put a damper on trying to sell it.
Give it to one of your kids one day.

My girlfriend's grandparents had a place not too far from here, and apparently Dali used to come over to stay periodically. (This is not a joke, by the way- apparently it's true.) This was revealed one day when my girlfriend's father casually mentioned that he had met Dali. As his son is a professional artist and my girlfriend also has aspirations in that direction, it was like setting off a grenade in the room. Finally the brother asked, "What was he like?"

"He was crazy! That son of a bitch had me help him hang a piano in a tree!"

It still gives me the giggles.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 9 May 2008, 16:18, closed)

Puta madre
Donde esta mi fucking cheque like
(magic the cat will someone please think of the kittens, Fri 9 May 2008, 17:22, closed)