Skip to main content

  • Visit
    Plan your visit
    • Tickets
    • Locations, hours, and admission
    • Map, audio, and more
    • Where to start
    • Visitor guidelines and policies
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Book a tour
    Tips for visiting
    • Restaurants
    • Accessibility
    • Discounts
    • Families
    • Visit MoMA PS1
  • Exhibitions and events
    In the galleries
    • Current and upcoming exhibitions
    • Exhibition history
    What’s on
    • Events calendar
    • Film series
    • Performances
  • Art and artists
    Explore our Collection
    • Art
    • Artists
    Learn, read, watch
    • Audio
    • Magazine
    • Art terms
    • Online courses
    • Youtube
  • Store
  • Enter a term to search
  • Become a member
  • Log in

Donate

Tickets

  • Tickets

  • Visit
    Plan your visit
    • Tickets
    • Locations, hours, and admission
    • Map, audio, and more
    • Where to start
    • Visitor guidelines and policies
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Book a tour
    Tips for visiting
    • Restaurants
    • Accessibility
    • Discounts
    • Families
    • Visit MoMA PS1
  • Exhibitions and events
    In the galleries
    • Current and upcoming exhibitions
    • Exhibition history
    What’s on
    • Events calendar
    • Film series
    • Performances
  • Art and artists
    Explore our Collection
    • Art
    • Artists
    Learn, read, watch
    • Audio
    • Magazine
    • Art terms
    • Online courses
    • Youtube
  • Store
  • Enter a term to search

Donate

  • Become a member
  • Log in
Our site uses technology that is not supported by your browser, so it may not work correctly. Please update your browser for the best experience.

Magazine

One on One: Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory

Inspired by cheese? Probably. Painted in two hours? Doubtful. Read about the “true” story of Dali’s most famous painting.

Anne Umland

Dec 4, 2025

  • Anne Umland

    Former Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Senior Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture
  • One on One
  • Books
  • Read
  • Painting
  • 2025 Collection galleries
  • Surrealism

Related articles

  • One on One: Romare Bearden’s Patchwork Quilt

    Bearden’s collage draws inspiration from sources as varied as African sculpture, Southern quilting traditions, and the paintings of Henri Rousseau.

    Esther Adler

    Aug 1, 2024

  • Surreal Love: Unveiling René Magritte’s The Lovers

    Love is blind…and suffocating?

    DaeQuan Alexander Collier

    Feb 7, 2024

Don’t miss

  • Artists on Artists

    Duane Michals on René Magritte

    The innovative photographer reflects on meeting—and a lifelong fascination with—the Surrealist painter.

    Samuel Allen, Duane Michals

    Jan 29, 2026

Don’t miss

  • Artists on Artists

    Duane Michals on René Magritte

    The innovative photographer reflects on meeting—and a lifelong fascination with—the Surrealist painter.

    Samuel Allen, Duane Michals

    Jan 29, 2026

Get the best of Magazine in your inbox.
  • About us
  • Support
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Magazine
Log in
MoMA 11 West 53 Street, Manhattan Open today, 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
MoMA PS1 Visit MoMA PS1 in Queens Free for everyone
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Visitor guidelines and policies
© 2026 The Museum of Modern Art