Salvador Dali died in 1989 and left his entire estate to the Spanish government. Pilar Tabel is a Tarot card reader and fortune teller who claims that she is Dali’s daughter due to a brief romance between her mother and the famous artist in the mid-50’s. She has tried for 10 years to prove that Dali is her father. A DNA test conducted from his death mask was inconclusive. She alleged that she did not receive the results of a DNA test conducted the next year. Dali was allegedly gay or simply preferred masturbation or voyeurism so the paternity claim of this woman seems far fetched. She also sued an author for supposedly basing a fictional character on her. Nonetheless, a Spanish court has ordered the exhumation of his body.
Several points:
1. If you read the entire article, you might wish to shower afterwards. A guy who is turned on sexually by Hitler is abnormal.
2. I would think that a case brought 28 years after someone’s death would be barred by the statute of limitations or the principle of laches.
3. In the U.S., Dali would not be obligated to leave his daughter, legitimate or illegitimate, anything.
4. It is unlikely that the woman did not receive the results of the second DNA test – I believe that they were negative and she simply waited another 9 years before pursuing this claim.
5. I doubt I am the only person who finds this matter incredibly surreal.
Photo Credit: Salvador Dali/Government of Spain
License: Fair Use/Education
