Twelve original Salvador Dalí paintings, commissioned more than 50 years ago and never before seen in the United States, will make their debut this summer—not in New York or Los Angeles, but in Hudson, Ohio.

“Dalí Beyond Time: Fashioning the Future” opens to the public at Peg’s Gallery, 53 First St. in Hudson, on Thursday, June 12. Dalí’s original paintings will be on view through July 5. High-quality reproductions will remain on display at the gallery, alongside designs from Kent State University’s School of Fashion until Sept. 27.

The fully restored paintings were created in 1971 for the luxury menswear brand and tailor Scabal and depict Dalí’s vision of what men’s fashion might look like in the year 2000.

The paintings depicting that vision will remain on view in Hudson for three weeks before heading to New York for private events, hosted by Scabal and luxury furniture brand B&B Italia. Then, they will return to Europe.

The arrival of these paintings in Ohio comes from an unexpected connection: A conversation between a Kent State fashion student and a Scabal executive in 2023. That exchange eventually led to a partnership with KSU’s School of Fashion, Peg’s Foundation, which runs Peg’s Gallery, a longtime supporter of the fashion school and Scabal.

"It's an honor to share these works with the American public for the first time, especially through such a meaningful and forward-thinking collaboration," says Paola Torello-Viera, president of Scabal ‘s Tailoring Americas.

In addition to Dalí’s paintings, the exhibit will also showcase 12 original fashion looks created by Kent’s School of Fashion juniors, who were challenged to respond to the same prompt Dalí received more than 50 years ago.

"We're thrilled to be part of this historic collaboration," says Dr. Mourad Krifa, the Margaret Clark Morgan director of Kent State's School of Fashion. "Our students had the rare opportunity to engage with archival surrealism and interpret it through the lens of contemporary fashion. This is the kind of creative learning experience that defines Kent State's leadership in fashion education."

Prior to the public opening, Peg’s Gallery will host an invitation-only VIP opening reception and runway show on June 11. Twenty-nine students were selected to appear in the show, including four pieces created using Scabal textiles.

During the opening event, six students will be named Dalí Vision Award winners—one winner and two runners-up in each of the categories of creativity and craftsmanship. These award winners will then travel to New York in July for special events connected to the Dalí paintings’ second U.S. showing.

Peg’s Foundation is a national philanthropic organization that supports those living with serious mental illness. In addition to funding programs and education efforts, the foundation opened Peg’s Gallery in 2024 to explore how art can create space for conversation, self-expression, and connection.

The gallery is named for the foundation’s founder, Kent native Margaret “Peg” Morgan, a fashion lover and mental health advocate who believed creativity could be part of the healing process.

"This collaboration with Scabal and Kent State University represents the kind of innovative partnership and moment that our founder Peg championed," says Rick Kellar, president and CEO of Peg’s Foundation. "Peg challenged us to 'Think Bigger' in everything we do, and bringing original works by Salvador Dalí to Hudson is a bold example of that vision in action.”

While Dalí wasn’t an overt mental health advocate, it has long been speculated that he faced his own mental health struggles. His work, inspired at times by Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind, has been said to reflect a sense of inner turmoil. The strange figures, warped time, and dreamlike settings suggest emotional overwhelm, identity confusion, and psychological tension—all experiences that many people living with mental illness can relate to.

In that light, showing Dalí’s work at Peg’s Gallery isn’t just about surrealism or fashion—it’s about using art to make space for sometimes difficult, often complicated states of mind.

“Dalí Beyond Time: Fashioning the Future” opens June 12. The original Dalí paintings will be on view through July 5. Student fashion designs and Scabal fabrications will remain on display through Sept. 27, alongside reproductions of the Dalí works. An invitation-only VIP reception and runway show will take place on June 11. For event updates and gallery hours, visit Peg’s Gallery’s website.