One of the UK’s most prestigious collections of Surrealist art will open up to the public later this month, revealing outlandish treasures such as Salvador Dalí’s notorious Mae West Lips Sofa (1938). Monthly public tours of West Dean College in West Sussex—an institution of arts, design, craft and conservation founded by Edward James (1907-1984), a patron of the Surrealist movement—begin 29 October.
James inherited his family estate in 1932, turning it into a centre for conservation and historic craft practices. “In 1964, James established the Edward James Foundation a charitable educational trust, to fulfil his desire to nurture music, traditional crafts and the fine arts,” says a statement. West Dean is operated today by a registered charity, The Edward James Foundation.
The origins of the Mae West Lips Sofa date back to 1937 when Dalí, under James’s instruction, created a famous blushing pair of lips to sit on. James wanted the sofa for Monkton House, his country pad on the West Dean estate, which he was reconfiguring as an entirely Surrealist space. “During the mid-1930s James completely transformed the property both inside and out, commissioning carpets, wallpaper, bespoke furniture and unique fittings,” says a West Dean statement.
According to the Victoria and Albert Museum: “James had a pair of bright red Mae West Lips sofas created specially for the dining room at Monkton. In total he commissioned and supervised the construction of five different versions of the sofa, each in different fabrics, (a hot-pink satin version was described by James as ‘too flashy’).”
“This is a story of James not just as a patron to the Surrealists...but a Surrealist creator in his own right”
Salvador Dalí & Edward James. Lobster Telephone. West Dean College.
Other celebrated pieces by Dalí on view during the public tours include his Lobster Telephone (1938) along with the Champagne Lamps (1938) and Cat’s Cradle Hand Chair.
“This is a story of James not just as a patron to the Surrealists, and a guardian of art and craft skills he feared would be lost, but a Surrealist creator in his own right, collaborating with the likes of Salvador Dali and applying himself to a variety of fields,” says a West Dean spokesperson.
Visitors can also see correspondence between James and the Surrealists including illustrated letters by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Leonora Carrington, as well as a letter by James describing a meeting between himself, Dalí and Sigmund Freud.
As Surrealism turns 100, fans of the hugely influential movement can meanwhile take Surrealism-inspired creative courses at West Dean’s centre in Bloomsbury, London, such as Surreal Automata (26 October 2024 and 12-15 January 2025).