Italy police seize 21 suspected forged Salvador Dali artworks after show opens in Parma

In this handout photo released Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, by Italy's Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command, two officers pose with some of the 21 artworks from the exhibition "Dali. Between Art and Myth" that were seized on suspicion of being fakes, in Parma, northern Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command via AP)

ROME — Italy’s art police on Wednesday seized 21 artworks purportedly by Salvador Dalí on suspicion they were forgeries, after being tipped off by the Surrealist’s foundation in Spain about suspected anomalies in the works.

The works were part of an exhibition, “Salvador Dalí, tra arte e mito” (Salvador Dalí, between art and myth”) that had been on show in Rome for the first half of the year and last week opened at Parma’s Palazzo Tarasconi.

Italy’s carabinieri art squad said while the show was open in Rome, it had received a report about suspected anomalies in some of the works from the Fundaciòn Gala - Salvador Dalí. The artist had created the non-profit foundation in 1983 to “promote, foster, disseminate, enhance, and defend Dalí’s world worldwide,” according to the foundation’s website.

On Wednesday morning with a judge’s warrant, the police seized 21 works from the Parma museum, including tapestries, drawings and engravings. Police stressed that the investigation was continuing.

With his whimsical creations, Dalí, is among the most-forged artists along with Pablo Picasso and Amadeo Modigliani, according to ArtNews.

The Associated Press