"Don't bother about being modern. Unfortunately it is the one thing that, whatever you do, you cannot avoid." -- Salvador Dalí

And to this day, the Spanish surrealist painter continues to be modern -- even in his passing he continues to be creatively cutting-edge -- for a rare set of newly discovered illustrations reveal his fascinating depiction of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

"The series, dated from 1975, consists of 10 offset lithographs reproduced to create 999 numbered books each containing 99 pages of heavy paper, bound text and Dalí unique depictions of Shakespeare's play," the New York Daily News reports. "The stunning images have come into the public eye after one gallery -- Lockport Street Gallery in Plainfeild, Ill. -- placed book number 819 of 999 up for sale." 

In addition to being a rare find, there's an added bonus -- "the gallery's book is one of only 35 versions containing an extra set of 10 phytoliths, each signed by Dalí himself."

"Interest in this fascinating set is already peaking but we expect much more over the next few weeks as word begins to spread. Because only a low amount of books with the additional images were ever created they are a real find for any Salvador Dalí fan," said a spokesperson at Lockport Street Gallery in Plainfeild, Ill.

The mysterious and complex Dalí is best known for his 1931 painting "The Persistence of Memory," showing melting clocks in a landscape setting, or his unique take on "Don Quixote" in 1945, and his eccentric twist on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland in 1969. 

"Dalí was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Spain. From an early age, Dalí was encouraged to practice his art and would eventually go on to study at an academy in Madrid. In the 1920s, he went to Paris and began interacting with artists such as Picasso, Magritte and Miró, which led to Dalí's first Surrealist phase."

Besides his widely-known painting, "The Persistence of Memory," "the rise of fascist leader Francisco Franco in Spain led to the artist's expulsion from the Surrealist movement, but that didn't stop him from painting. Dalí died in Figueres in 1989."

Click here to view Dalí's rare set of newly discovered illustrations that depict Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet.