The Persistence of Memory

painting by Salvador Dalí completed in 1931. Also known as Soft Watches or Melting Clocks, it is one of Dalí’s most famous pieces.
VisualArtwork painting Q25729
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

The Persistence of Memory is a visual artwork associated with surrealism.[1][2]

Key Facts

  • Creator: Salvador Dalí[3]
  • Located in the administrative territorial entity: New York City[4]
  • Owned by: Museum of Modern Art[5]
  • Movement: surrealism[6]
  • Genre: landscape painting[7], still life[8]
  • Performer: Salvador Dalí[9]
  • Depicts: watch[10], ant[11], cliff[12]
  • Made from material: oil paint[13], canvas[14]
  • Collection: Museum of Modern Art[15]
  • Inventory number: 162.1934[16], 162.1934.0[17]
  • Location: Museum of Modern Art[18]
  • Commons category: The Persistence of Memory[19]
  • Country of origin: Spain[20]
  • Catalog code: P 265[21]
  • Inception: 1931[22]
  • Point in time: 1931[23]
  • Exhibition history: Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism[24]
  • Depicts Iconclass notation: 25H[25], 25F711(ANT)[26], 23U25[27]
  • Described by source: 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die[28]
  • Title: The Persistence of Memory[29]
  • Native label: La persistencia de la memoria[30]
  • Height: 24.1 cm[31], 9.5 inches[32]
  • Width: 33 cm[33], 13 inches[34]
  • Copyright holder: Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation[35]
  • Derivative work: Q136701577[36]

Why It Matters

The Persistence of Memory has Wikipedia articles in 27 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[37] It is known by 45 alternative names across languages and contexts.[38]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [6] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . beckchris.wordpress.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  4. [7] ↑ . RKDartists. wikidata.org.
  5. [8] ↑ . RKDartists. wikidata.org.
  6. [3] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . beckchris.wordpress.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  7. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [10] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  9. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [13] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . moma.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [14] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . moma.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [15] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . beckchris.wordpress.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [29] ↑ . Make Lists, Not War. beckchris.wordpress.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  28. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [31] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [32] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. wikidata.org.
  31. [33] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [34] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. wikidata.org.
  33. [35] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  34. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [37] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [38] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). The Persistence of Memory. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-persistence-of-memory
MLA “The Persistence of Memory.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-persistence-of-memory.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_the-persistence-of-memory_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{The Persistence of Memory}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-persistence-of-memory}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-11}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): The Persistence of Memory — https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-persistence-of-memory (retrieved 2026-10-11)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-persistence-of-memory · Last refreshed: