Dali's Dream of Venus

Salvador Dalí’s Dream of Venus was one of the most provocative attractions of the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Designed as a surrealist “funhouse,” the pavilion rejected the fair’s streamlined vision of the “World of Tomorrow” in favor of a bizarre dreamscape of distorted forms, underwater scenes, performers, and fantastical imagery. Dalí clashed with fair organizers, who censored some of his more outrageous ideas, prompting him to issue a manifesto defending “the Independence of the Imagination.” The pavilion became a popular and controversial experiment that challenged the boundary between fine art and popular entertainment.