V&A acquires Mae West Lips sofa by Salvador Dalí and Edward James
(Artdaily.org)

The V&A announces it has acquired one of the most important examples of British Surrealist furniture ever produced. Purchased with support from Art Fund, the V&A members and a bequest from Derek Woodman, the Mae West Lips sofa was the joint creation of artist Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) and his most important British patron, Edward James (1907-1984). Dalí and James collaborated on the design after James suggested that they should create a sofa based on Dalí’s gouache (or drawing) ‘Mae West’s Face which May be Used as a Surrealist Apartment’ (1934-35). James had five Mae West Lips sofas produced in 1938 in different fabrics. A pink satin version has previously been on long-term loan to the V&A, appearing as a star object in the 2007 major exhibition Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design. The version that the