Fantastic Beach Scene (Fantastic beach scene)

The print reflects the close relationship between Salvador Dalí and the English poet Edward James, who met in Palamós, on the Costa Brava, during the summer of 1935, at Mas Juny, the country house of the internationally acclaimed Catalan painter Josep Maria Sert i Badia (1874-1945). The dedication ‘To Edward James,’ along with the composition of the print – which incorporates motifs inspired by Les Chants de Maldoror and the landscapes of the Catalan coast – suggests that its creation dates from the beginning of the deep friendship between the two in the years in which Edward James was Dalí’s patron [see OG 020].