Salvador Dali was a major part of surrealism.  Along with Rene Magritte and Max Ernst.
Indeed. Picasso too. However, I like Dali in particular for his work The Persistence of Memory.
He was  known for his explorations of the subconscious .  He was influenced by Sigmund Freud's writings as well.  
Interesting. I did not know that. I suppose I'm more into the aesthetic aspect of melting clocks than the surrealist movement itself, although I find both to be interesting.
Melting clocks are interesting.  He described these himself as hand painted dream photographs.  The clocks are said to signify erratic passing of time.
That certainly makes sense. Apparently melting Camembert cheese was also a source of his inspiration for those clocks.
The clocks were also thought to be a symbol of his mortality as well, since there were also depictions of decay in the painting.
That, too, makes sense. With so much meaning behind his work, it's no wonder why they fetch prices as high as $22 million.
He created near 1700 art prints in his life.  Many are limited edition and hand signed.  He used many different art mediums for these prints.  He also did art for Alice and Wonderland.
He has had a productive career for sure. I wonder if there will ever be another like him.
There are several contemporary artists that site influence by Dali.  Evan Lawrence and Anne Faith Nicholls are two of them.  Mark Hopkins is another.