Dalí Atomicus is a surreal photograph of the artist Salvador Dalí jumping, taken by the photographer Philippe Halsman in 1948. The photograph also features three cats flying through the air.

At least 26 takes of the photograph were made before Halsman was satisfied with the result. The process took between five and six hours. The final version was published in Life magazine, along with some outtakes.

Time magazine considers Dalí Atomicus one of the "100 most influential photographs ever taken".

Dalí said, "I have an idea. Let's take a duck and put some dynamite up his derriere and blow him up." And my father said, "Oh you can't do that. You're in America. You might get arrested ...."

Spanish artist Salvador Dalí, a Surrealist, first met American photographer Philippe Halsman in New York City in 1941, when the photo agency Black Star assigned Halsman to photograph the installation of one of Dalí's exhibitions at the Julien Levy Gallery in April. The two met again in October, when Halsman photographed the costumes Dalí made for a ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House. A photo Halsman took on a city rooftop, of the ballerina Tamara Toumanova with another dancer dressed in an oversized rooster costume, had elements of surrealism common in Dalí's own visuals. The image became Life magazine's "Picture of the Week", and solidified the friendship between the two.

For decades afterward, the two artists would collaborate at least once every year. Halsman's daughter Irene described the relationship between the artists as non-competitive, as Dalí was not interested in taking photographs himself, nor Halsman interested in painting. Philippe Halsman recalled that whenever he had a crazy idea, he would often bring it up with Dalí, knowing that he would be a willing subject, while whenever Dalí came to him with an absurd idea, he would try to find a way to make it work.

When the two artists met in 1948 to collaborate for Dalí Atomicus, Dalí had been working on the painting Leda Atomica (1949) since 1945. The painting played with the theme of suspension; its title referenced how protons and electrons were suspended in an atom by their constant repulsion, a subject of interest during the Atomic Age. Inspired by the painting, the two played with the idea of having things suspended in the air for the photograph. Dalí originally suggested blowing up a live duck with dynamite. Halsman was not as keen on that specific idea, and the two later decided to have furniture, water, cats, and Dalí himself appear suspended in midair for the picture.

Dalí Atomicus features Salvador Dalí jumping into the air as three cats fly past him. A bucket's worth of water courses through the air after the cats. Behind Dalí is an easel, on which is an image reminiscent of the flying cats. A chair is on the left side of the frame, and Leda Atomica and a step stool are on the right. The chair, the easel, Leda Atomica, and the step stool all appear to be floating in midair.