Portrait Of Mrs Harrison Williams 1943

This portrait of Mrs. Harrison Williams by Salvador Dalí is pure theatre, a world that's been built up layer by layer, with thin washes of greens and blues creating a dreamlike vision. I can see Dalí, brush in hand, conjuring this whole scene – the pyramids, the classical figures, and Mrs. Williams herself, standing tall amidst it all. What was he thinking as he painted her? Did she commission it? The brushstrokes are delicate, almost ghostly, especially in the way the dress seems to flow and meld into the background, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. It reminds me of the way other painters, like Remedios Varo, created their own fantastical realms, pulling from dreams and mythology. We're all in this game of call and response, adding our own brushstrokes to the conversation, inspired by the artists who came before us, trying to make sense of the world, one painting at a time.