In his Dreams of Venus pavilion at the New York World's Fair, Dali had a nude model wear the "Constellation" necklace from the Schiaparelli Haute Couture summer 1939 collection. Made of multicolored galathite stars, it belonged to Gala.

Photographer Horst P. Horst took a series of photographs of the nude model wearing the necklace. Dalí then inked this photograph, transforming the young woman into a surreal mermaid.