Dalí's 1936 Diving Suit Lecture at London's International Surrealist Exhibition Nearly Suffocated Him
During the summer of 1936, the New Burlington Galleries in London hosted the International Surrealist Exhibition, where Salvador Dalí gave a lecture called "Authentic Paranoiac Phantoms" while donning a borrowed diving suit. Although the Manchester Evening News criticized the event, it managed to draw in 30,000 attendees over three weeks. Dalí found it difficult to communicate because of the helmet's glass visor and became excessively hot. His wife Gala and friend Edward James eventually rescued him with a hammer. The audience misinterpreted his pale complexion as part of the performance. Dalí also displayed slides in a jumbled and inverted manner. The exhibition included works by notable artists like Pablo Picasso and René Magritte. Joanna Moorhead suggested that the impending war may have influenced its reception.
Key facts
- The International Surrealist Exhibition opened in summer 1936 at the New Burlington Galleries behind London's Royal Academy.
- Salvador Dalí lectured on "Authentic Paranoiac Phantoms" while wearing a rented diving suit and helmet.
- The Manchester Evening News called the exhibition "a travesty of everything that's decent."
- The show attracted 30,000 visitors during its three-week run.
- Dalí's lead shoes were so heavy he could barely lift them, and he held two white Russian wolfhounds on leashes.
- He nearly suffocated after being sealed in the helmet for ten minutes; Gala and Edward James freed him with a hammer.
- Dalí presented slides out of order and mostly upside down after the suit incident.
- The exhibition included works by Picasso, Magritte, Ernst, Calder, de Chirico, Duchamp, Giacometti, Klee, Man Ray, and Dalí.
Entities
Artists
- Salvador Dalí
- Pablo Picasso
- René Magritte
- Max Ernst
- Alexander Calder
- Giorgio de Chirico
- Marcel Duchamp
- Alberto Giacometti
- Paul Klee
- Man Ray
- Gala Dalí
- Edward James
- André Breton
- Herbert Read
- William Blake
- Lewis Carroll
- Joanna Moorhead
- Colin Marshall
- Paul Nash
Institutions
- New Burlington Galleries
- Royal Academy
- Manchester Evening News
- The Guardian
- Open Culture
- Monty Python's Flying Circus
- The Daily Mirror
- The Times
Locations
- London
- England
- United Kingdom
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Mayfair