Salvador Dalí on a Cross-Channel Steamer, 5 May 1959

Photograph by George Elam

This striking photograph of Salvador Dalí was taken on 5 May 1959 by Daily Mail photographer George Elam. Dalí is pictured aboard the Maid of Orléans, a Continental steamer crossing the English Channel en route to London.

George Elam began his career at the Daily Mail as a messenger boy in 1934. Apart from his wartime service in the Royal Navy, he remained with the paper for fifty-one years, eventually retiring as Deputy Picture Editor in 1985.

One of the highlights of Elam’s career came in 1947, when he and Daily Mail reporter Harry Procter covered the stag party of Prince Philip at The Dorchester. Although security initially prevented journalists from entering, Procter telephoned Lord Mountbatten directly to request permission. To their surprise, access was granted — though the exclusivity they had hoped for was short-lived when other reporters were also admitted.

In May 1959, Elam was assigned to photograph Dalí, whose full name was Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol. The artist was travelling to London to promote The Case of Salvador Dalí by Fleur Fenton Cowles.

True to form, Dalí turned the Channel crossing into a theatrical performance. During a visit to the ship’s bridge, he jokingly told Captain T. J. Lynes that he was carrying a bomb — a remark clearly intended as surreal humour. Throughout the journey, Dalí struck dramatic poses for Elam’s camera, providing images that delighted the Daily Mail’s picture desk and gave the paper an advantage over competitors attending the later book event at the London Planetarium.

Dalí died of heart failure on 23 January 1989 in his birthplace of Figueres. He is buried in the crypt of the Dalí Theatre and Museum.