Salvador Dali
Spanish, 1904­1989
Mae West
c. 1934
Gouache over photographic print
28.3 x 17.8 cm
Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman in memory of Charles B. Goodspeed, 1949.517
© 1995 Demart Pro Arte, Geneva / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 

Is this a portrait of the actress Mae West, or her living room? Or both?

Look closely at the details before you answer! Two frames in the background look like eyes, and her nose appears to be a fireplace. The couch in the center looks like lips. Her hair might be curtains. The painting seems to show a woman’s head, and a room, at the same time. In fact, this painting was actually a design for a room, now built in the Dali Museum in Barcelona.