Robert Descharnes was born January 1 1926 in Nevers. He was the photographer and official biographer and collaborator of the renowned Catalan painter Salvador Dalí. A cinematographer by trade, with the help of the painter and founder of the lyric abstraction George Mathieux, Descharnes met Gala and Salvador Dalí in 1950 on the boat paquebot America that conducted maritimes transportation between America and Europe. From that moment on a close collaboration developed between Dalí and Descharmes. Together, they tried releasing the Adventures of the Prodigious Lace Maker and the Rhinoceros, a movie dedicated to the Dalínian theories on the spiral logarithmic curve. Later on, Descharnes became a close friend and collaborator to Dalí working with him on many artistic projects. He realised several publications and films for Dalí and about Dalí. His most renowned publication was Dalí "L'Homme" and is considered a reference tool to the works of Dalí. When the work of Dalí was jeopardized in the 1980's with an abundance of fake Dalí art, Dalí named Descharnes CEO of the Demart Corporation, a job he occupied until his retirement in 2004, where he monitored the market removing fakes and authenticating Dalí art. He and his son Nicolas live and work in Paris authenticating Dalí art.