What if the things in your dreams could become paintings? That is exactly what Salvador Dali tried to do. Born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Spain, Dali became one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. He was part of an art movement called Surrealism. Surrealist artists painted scenes from dreams and the imagination. Their art often looked strange and impossible. Dali's most famous painting is called "The Persistence of Memory." It shows soft, melting clocks draped over rocks and tree branches in a desert landscape. Dali said the melting clocks were inspired by watching cheese melt in the sun. He wanted to show that time is not as solid or dependable as people think. Dali was also known for his wild personality. He had a long, thin mustache that he waxed into points. He once arrived at a lecture in a diving suit and nearly suffocated. He kept an ocelot as a pet and walked it through the streets of New York City. Some people thought he was being silly. But Dali believed that art should surprise people and make them question what is real.