Recently Kink-Keeper on Fetlife posted some Salvador Dali photographs (https://fetlife.com/users/9203103/pictures/116731043) and they brought to mind Dali’s 1939 New York World Fair Dream of Venus pavilion in the amusement zone. Some promotional photos by Horst drew my attention to Dream of Venus, partially because one of the models reminded me of my partner. Further research turned up a great book, Salvador Dali’s Dream of Venus: The Surrealist Funhouse from the 1939 World’s Fair by Ingrid Schaffner which is out of print now (https://www.amazon.com/Salvador-Dalis-Dream-Venus-Surrealist/dp/156898359X).

About 15 years ago on eBay I came across a lot of black and white photos of Dream of Venus and other amusement zone exhibits from the World’s Fair taken by a tourist where there had been partial nudity. These prints were quite small though sometimes later at other auctions I came across larger prints, though not of the Dream of Venus exhibit.

The photos I have which I have posted here were taken to the tank show portion of the pavilion. The tank was filled with Dali three dimensional artwork made of flexible rubber which moved as the models swam past. There was also a Dali painting at the back of the tank. The models wore two basic costumes. One costume was the bottom half of a period corset, leaving the breasts exposed. The other costume was a one piece suit with a heart-shaped cutout in the front also leaving the breasts exposed.

There is a color silent movie available online of the 1939 World’s Fair and the segment here shows the Dream of Venus pavilion about 45 seconds in: https://archive.org/details/Medicusc1939_2 My memory has a second segment appearing later in the film though I can’t remember the exact spot. The film is fun to watch and it’s amazing how much nudity was allowed at this World Fair.

If you can find Schaffner’s book at a library, or can afford a copy, it is well worth a read.

Here are the photos I have, all taken of the tank show.