The Stratton Foundation proudly brings this exciting world-class exhibition to London for the first time, through the generosity of loans from public and private institutions, large collections and private contributions.

Mr Benjamin Levi, President of the Stratton Foundation, is well known for his involvement with Salvador Dalí exhibitions. To date, he has successfully organised over 60 exhibitions dedicated to the famous Surrealist artist which have attracted over 5 million visitors.

Mr Levi knew Dalí and his whole entourage very well. In the 1960s and '70s Mr Levi headed one of Italy's most prestigious galleries, the Galleria Levi on Via Montenapoleone, where he exhibited some of the world's most famous artists: Miró, Kandinsky, Picasso and Dalí, introducing international artists to the Italian art-collecting community.

Mr Levi knew many of the period's leading artists, such as Picasso and De Chirico, and counted much of Italy's social elite among his clients - regular visitors to his gallery included Maria Callas, Baron Von Thyssen and the Agnelli family. Mr Levi travelled extensively, especially to Africa and the Far East, in pursuit of diverse artistic styles, collecting artefacts and sculptures not often seen before in Europe.

It was at this time that Mr Levi held a Surrealist exhibition at his gallery and was introduced to Dalí. He frequently travelled to see Dalí at his many residences in Paris, New York and his home in Spain. Mr Levi was fascinated by some early Dalí sculptures he had found and bought from a Paris gallery, and encouraged Dalí to once more express his artistic vision in sculptural form, commissioning Dalí to create a series of bronzes based on his most famous Surrealist images.

Mr Levi worked closely with Dalí on this bronze sculpture project and is known worldwide as the leading expert on Dalí bronzes. He has lectured and written often on the subject, and is publishing a definitive book on Dalí sculptures with Allemandi Editore.