In 1942, the Surrealist painter Paul Delvaux painted a seaside fantasy scene called The Village of the Mermaids.  The foreground shows several women sitting soberly along a small village street; in the distance, along the beach, there’s a surprise. Judith Kampfner went into the vaults of the Art Institute of Chicago to see Delvaux’s painting and discuss its origin with curator Stephanie D’Alessandro.

(Originally aired: July 05, 2003)