Dali Skull, Uklanski Skull

fascist bootlicker salvador dali sits in a top hat and tails in the lower left corner of this portrait photographed by philippe halsman, while on the right side, seven nude white women sit, lay, and contort to form a a human skull that fills the right half of the image. circa 1951, this later print is less dark than the mass edition, and is from john koch gallery.
Philippe Halsman, Dalí Skull, originally titled, In Voluptas Mors, 1951, this print before 1976, on 14×11 in. sheet, via John Koch Gallery

In 1951 Philippe Halsman had seven nude women sit in the form of a human skull for a portrait he made of fascist cuddlebuddy Salvador Dalí. One of those women, the one seated on the center left, I believe, was Olga Bogach, who I happened to interview in 2007, at the encouragement of some relatives were looking to buy her apartment.

I later edited the interview and uploaded it to YouTube, where it sits quietly to this day. I just watched it again, though, and do like the fascinating story, of course, but also the moral nuances that pop up throughout. As Joan Didion did not say, we tell ourselves stories in order to sell our co-ops.

[The apartment deal didn’t happen for several nontrivial reasons, not the least of which was Olga’s complicated relationship with the co-op board, some of whom, it sometimes seemed, were thwarting a sale in order to get her apartment for themselves, on the cheap. But that is like five tangents from here.]

a black and white photo by piotr uklanski of seven white people, nude, arranged in the form of a human skull, with the artist at the center in an oddly christ on the cross-like pose. unlike salvador dali's version which inspired it, piotr's skull has three men in it (including him). they're still all white tho. anyway, selling at sothebys oct 2025
Piotr Uklanski, Untitled (Skull), 2000, gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in., ed. 14/20, selling rn at Sotheby’s

The Halsman/Dalî connection was a surprise, because Piotr Uklanski’s own co-ed, self-portrait re-creation, Untitled (Skull) (2000), was an inadvertent guest at our wedding. Or at least the wedding party we had at Passerby, that overflowed into Gavin Brown’s Enterprise while Piotr’s show was on. Except for a sculpture that was a puddle of water in the center of the floor, which we mopped up, the rest of the show stayed. On one wall behind the dessert table was a giant, framed photo of Mt Vesuvius. But mounted on the main wall was a life-sized version of Untitled (Skull). Piotr’s outstretched arms and placid face—and a tangle of torsos and asses—all blend perfectly into every. single. photo. And not even like the background; our photographer shot black & white, and it often really did feel like these folks were right there, celebrating with us.

One of the few prints to turn up from the much smaller (14 x 11 in.) edition is finishing at Sotheby’s as I type this. It was great to see it again, and for a minute I did think of going for it. But then I figured, nah, let someone else have a chance; besides, we have like 300 pictures of it already.

Olga of 67th St (2009), the Halsman’s about 11:00 in, if you’re antsy [youtube]
1 Oct 2025, Lot 942: Piotr Uklanski, Untitled (Skull), est. $2-3,000, sold for $6,350, I lost [sothebys]