Throughout my entire career as a graduate student, I had a copy of Henri Rousseau's The Dream (1910) thumbtacked to the wall of my office. Rousseau, who never traveled outside of France, painted a lush jungle based on things that he had seen at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. He said, "When I am in these hothouses and see the strange plants from exotic lands, it seems to me that I am entering a dream." I always dreamed of working in tropical forests, and this painting was a beautiful surrogate while I took classes and prepared my research prospectus.
My dream came true. [NOTE: Image is from the Museum of Modern Art. I stood in front of the original for quite a long time last Sunday. And took lots of pictures of art].