This past weekend I had the chance to explore downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., and spend an afternoon at The Dalí Museum, a stunning dome structure on the waterfront featuring more than 2,000 pieces created by the Spanish artist. Having studied Dalí’s art in college, I was excited to immerse myself in his surrealist, dreamy world and learn more about famous paintings like The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory. The architecture of the new museum, opened in 2011, is a work of surrealist art itself mimicking Dalí’s works, featuring a free-standing spiral staircase and a window nicknamed the “Glass Enigma” made from 900 glass panels.

Earlier this month, the museum debuted “Warhol: Art. Fame. Mortality,” a collection of art from Andy Warhol running through April 27. The works, more than 100 pieces on loan from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, include 35 paintings (such as the Campbell Soup images), a selection of films and several self-portraits of Warhol, the early adopter of the selfie.

The exhibit also showcases the friendship between Dalí and Warhol with two photos of the men together. Though Dalí, born in 1904, was a generation older than Warhol, born in 1928, the two were good friends who were both interested in popular culture, mass media and cultivating their celebrity status. During one of their visits together, Warhol asked Dalí to do one of his famous screen tests, in which the subject sits motionless in front a movie camera until the spool of film runs out (approximately three minutes). Dalí left the frame and never finished his, but museum-goers now have the chance to get their three minutes of fame with a replica of Warhol’s screen test set. The interactive feature allows museum guests to sit in front of a camera for three minutes and send and share their tests via email and social media.

After getting our fill of surrealist and pop art, my friend and I capped off our visit with wine and tapas at the museum’s Café Gala and then wandered along the city’s revitalized waterfront and through downtown. With more than seven miles of waterfront parks and a variety of new restaurants and shops, the pedestrian-friendly city is the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

— Monique Barrett, advertising and editorial coordinator