Good afternoon to you all and thank you very much for your very kind welcome. At this luncheon today, let me say, once again, that it has been a great honour for me to inaugurate the new Salvador Dalí Museum, together with you all, in this beautiful, hospitable city of St. Petersburg, in the beloved state of Florida.
The opening ceremony provided me the opportunity to admire the splendid new building, with its magnificent, modern facilities, which from now on will house and display the largest collection outside Spain of the work of the great Spanish painter and artist, Salvador Dalí.
Today has been particularly moving for me, as Infanta of Spain and also as a member of the Board of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, which maintains such close and fruitful ties with the St Petersburg Museum.
Thanks to the efforts of the Museum Trustees and staff, the extraordinary, multifaceted creative capacity of Dalí, reflected in the splendid collection of the St Petersburg Museum, is open to a more complete and attractive viewing by thousands of new visitors from all over the world.
"...The extraordinary, multifaceted creative capacity of Dalí, reflected in the splendid collection of the St Petersburg Museum, is open to a more complete and attractive viewing by thousands of new visitors from all over the world..."
The new building houses a highly important collection for the study and understanding of Dalí, born just over a century ago in the Catalan town of Figueres in north-eastern Spain.
Dalí once said "I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject rather the person grows to look like his portrait". In the same sense, I believe that the highest praise one can give to this new museum is that it has been created specifically to contain Dalí's work, and to resemble it.
Accordingly, I extend my warmest congratulations to all those who have contributed their knowledge, their industry and their support to the creation of this new Museum.
It is a symbol of the hard work and excellence of all involved, as well as of the sensibility and dedication of the trustees, benefactors, collaborators and friends of the Museum, who have given the best of themselves to make this great project a reality. I fully share their happiness and their pride, together with the debt of special remembrance we owe to the founders, Reynolds and Eleanor Morse.
In this spirit, I raise my glass to all the men and women who have facilitated the construction of this admirable new Museum, which with each succeeding day will strengthen the close ties of friendship between the United States and Spain.
Muchas gracias. Thank you very much.