Vanessa Obioha
After a decade of trying to prove that she is the result of a clandestine affair between her mother and the famous artist, Salvador Dalà in late 1950s, a recent DNA test revealed that Abel Pilar, a tarot-card reader is not an heir of DalÃ.
Abel’s ambitious attempt to prove her relationship with the late eccentric artist had a headway in June when a court in Madrid ordered the body of the artist to be exhumed. Amidst reverie and sensationalism, experts entered the crypt beneath the museum Dalà designed for himself in his home town of Figueres, Catalonia in July to take DNA samples from his hair, nails and bones.
The result of that test according to the Gala-Salvador Dalà Foundation which controls the artist’s estate revealed that Abel and Dalà are not related in anyway. The Foundation said a report submitted to the court by the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic services had established the fact that Dalà is not Abel’s biological father.
The paternity test result was good news to the Foundation which had frowned upon the enquiry right from the onset. However, Abel is still defiant in her ambitious pursuit of the truth. In previous encounters, she had claimed that she had a striking semblance to the artist, that the only thing missing was the moustache which was carved like clock hands at 10 past 10. The moustache was found to be intact when his body was exhumed.
She told a Spanish newspaper that she won’t accept the words of the Foundation yet because no one has reached her or her lawyers regarding the test results. She added however that the official outcome will not detract from her self-esteem.
Abel would have inherited a quarter of Dal۪̉s fortune which he bequeathed to the Spanish state Foundation if the DNA results have supported her claim.
Dalà the eccentric surrealist died in 1989 at age 84, seven years after his Russian-born wife Gala died. They had a childless relationship.
