The Surrealist Book
The Surrealist Book features the work of Surrealism's most fascinating figures, including Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Claude Cahun, Paul Eluard, Toyen, Max Ernst, and Unica Zurn. It traces the myriad roles of Surrealist books from their foundational impact in the 1920s, through their convention-defying influence in the 1930s and '40s, to the persistent presence of a Surrealist sensibility in volumes produced well into the 1950s and '60s.
The exhibition showcases a transformative gift of rare artists' books from the Helen and Sam Zell Collection, presented for the first time at MoMA. This trove of exquisite objects includes special editions printed on unusual papers or enhanced with supplementary materials, unique maquettes and singular sketchbooks filled with collages and fantastical drawings, sculptural bindings that turn books into hybrid, interactive artworks, and much more.
Whether sparking disquiet or delight, books, the Surrealists insisted, "are doors." Whoever "opens them is immediately thrown into a higher realm."
About the artist
André Robert Breton was a French writer and poet, known as a principal theorist and co-founder of surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism".
About the artist →
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí de Púbol, known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
About the artist →About the venue
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture…
