This beautifully hand painted oil on canvas reproduction of Salvador Dali’s Sleep masterfully recreates the original. Sleep was originally produced for Edward James: The sole heir of the American railroad pioneer William James. His mother was Evelyn Forbes, a Scottish socialite who was reputedly the illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Wales – Edward VII.

James was Dali’s patron from 1936 through to 1939. He was a poet and a notable patron of the surrealist arts – Akin to the surrealists he was intrigued by the world of dreams and believed that the subconscious could be drawn upon for creativity.

Sleep depicts the mind giving way to sleep in such a way that it is seen as an entirely different state. While the skies are bright and clear the soft dismembered head is suspended on crutches above a desert landscape – Only a dog (also with its sleepy head in a crutch), a ghost-like figure and a single rock in the distance accompany the head. The mouth and eyes are held up by crutches: In many ways this oil painting depicts a state of vulnerability – In the way the head could collapse at any moment.

During the patronage of Edward James Dali created Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa – Two of the most renowned and enduring icons of Surrealism. And indeed, Sleep reflects Dali’s surge into the art world as a leading Surrealist artist.