Mae West Lips Sofa

The Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) is a surrealist sofa by Salvador Dalí. The wood-and-satin sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, whom Dalí apparently found fascinating. It measures 86.5 x 183 x 81.5 cm.

Edward James, a rich British patron of the Surrealists in the 1930s, commissioned this piece from Dali.

Famous quotes containing the words mae west, west, lips and/or sofa:

    “Any time you’ve got nothing to do—and lots of time to do it—come on up.”
    —Mae West, U.S. screenwriter, W.C. Fields, and Edward Cline. Flower Belle Lee (Mae West)

    “Our foreparents were mostly brought from West Africa.... We were brought to America and our foreparents were sold; white people bought them; white people changed their names ... my maiden name is supposed to be Townsend, but really, what is my maiden name? What is my name?”
    —Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977)

    “The secret ones around a stone
    Their lips withdrawn in meet surprise
    Lie still, being naught but bone
    With naught but space within their eyes....”
    —Allen Tate (1899–1979)

    “There is nothing so slipperily alluring as sadness; we become sad in the first place by having nothing stirring to do; we continue in it, because we have found a snug sofa at last.”
    —Herman Melville (1819–1891)