Dutch author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) is renowned for publishing more than 150 literary fairy tales. In 1966 Salvador Dalí created 10 illustrations to celebrate some of the tales.
The Toad was first published in 1866. It tells the tale of a family of toads living alongside green frogs in a well. The toads were not kind to the frogs and the frogs thought the toads were ugly. Dalí’s artwork Hans Christian Andersen tales – The Toad depicts the unpleasant nature of the toads using dark red and black colouring. This surrounds an image of mother toad in the well.