ANTONIA BREME | REFLECTION SERIES | NEW TONI PRESS | PRESS TEXT
It is difficult to think of a more iconic collaboration between artists and department stores than the one that went on for decades at Bonwit Teller, which commissioned emerging and established artists to design their window displays. The standpoints and approaches were as varied as the artists involved. In 1936, for example, Salvador Dalí was appointed to design two window displays representing “Night” and “Day”. The latter was based on the Narcissus myth, displaying various reflecting surfaces, mirrors, held by arms protruding from the walls, and the water in a bathtub for instance. Dalí’s proposition shocked Bonwit Teller’s clients, who requested Dalí’s design be changed or cancelled. Ultimately, the manager quickly amended the display without warning the artist. An unholy scene followed as an enraged Dalí fell down while trying to reposition the bathtub, only to smash the shop’s window with it. His subsequent arrest didn’t last long at least. Leading Dalí to observe: “These are some of the privileges that an artist with temperament seems to enjoy.”