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Surrealism
Surrealism is a survey of the twentieth century's longest lasting and, arguably, most influential art movement. Championed and held together by Andre Breton for over forty years, Surrealism was France's major avant-garde artistic tendency from 1924 onwards, rapidly spreading around the globe to become an international phenomenon. During World War II Surrealism's exiled artists and writers had a major impact on American art and were a primary influence for the Abstract Expressionist generation. The official surrealist movement continued to the end of Breton's life in 1966, and its legacy is still pervasive today, in contemporary art as well as in numerous quotations from surrealist imagery in cinema, advertising and the media.
The Survey essay by Mary Ann Caws - a distinguished scholar, translator and associate of the Surrealists - describes in clear, perceptive and lively prose the essential characteristics that define Surrealism, as well as tracing a concise path through the chronology of this prolific and wide-ranging movement. The text also demonstrates how surrealist art and writing are interdependent. The Works section follows the movement from its beginnings in the 1920s up to the 1940s and 1950s. Its six sections trace the themes which predominated at different stages: Chance and Freedom - the earliest work, characterized by complete automatic spontaneity; Poetics of Vision - the strategies of surrealist image-making, reflecting the mind's inner visions; Elusive Objects - the fascination with objects of all kinds from which emerged artworks such as Meret Oppenheim's celebrated fur-lined cup and saucer; Desire - the investigation of desire, eroticism and 'mad love' which is central and unique to the movement; Delirium - Surrealism's high-risk engagement with extreme mental states and disturbing, uncanny visions; and, the Infinite Terrains of later Surrealism, ranging from Joseph Cornell's magical assemblages in box frames, like 'theatres of the mind', to the infinite fields and dynamic energy of late surrealist painting at the dawn of Abstract Expressionism.
The Survey essay by Mary Ann Caws - a distinguished scholar, translator and associate of the Surrealists - describes in clear, perceptive and lively prose the essential characteristics that define Surrealism, as well as tracing a concise path through the chronology of this prolific and wide-ranging movement. The text also demonstrates how surrealist art and writing are interdependent. The Works section follows the movement from its beginnings in the 1920s up to the 1940s and 1950s. Its six sections trace the themes which predominated at different stages: Chance and Freedom - the earliest work, characterized by complete automatic spontaneity; Poetics of Vision - the strategies of surrealist image-making, reflecting the mind's inner visions; Elusive Objects - the fascination with objects of all kinds from which emerged artworks such as Meret Oppenheim's celebrated fur-lined cup and saucer; Desire - the investigation of desire, eroticism and 'mad love' which is central and unique to the movement; Delirium - Surrealism's high-risk engagement with extreme mental states and disturbing, uncanny visions; and, the Infinite Terrains of later Surrealism, ranging from Joseph Cornell's magical assemblages in box frames, like 'theatres of the mind', to the infinite fields and dynamic energy of late surrealist painting at the dawn of Abstract Expressionism.
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
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About the author
Mary Ann Caws
173 books63 followersMary Ann Caws is an American author, translator, art historian and literary critic.
She is Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Literature, English, and French at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, and on the film faculty. She is an expert on Surrealism and modern English and French literature, having written biographies of Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Henry James. She works on the interrelations of visual art and literary texts, has written biographies of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, and edited the diaries, letters, and source material of Joseph Cornell. She has also written on André Breton, Robert Desnos, René Char, Yves Bonnefoy, Robert Motherwell, and Edmond Jabès. She served as the senior editor for the HarperCollins World Reader, and edited anthologies including Manifesto: A Century of Isms, Surrealism, and the Yale Anthology of 20th-Century French Poetry. Among others, she has translated Stéphane Mallarmé, Tristan Tzara, Pierre Reverdy, André Breton, Paul Éluard, Robert Desnos, and René Char.
Among the positions she has held are President, Association for Study of Dada and Surrealism, 1971–75 and President, Modern Language Association of America, 1983, Academy of Literary Studies, 1984–85, and the American Comparative Literature Association, 1989-91.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities.
In October 2004, she published her autobiography, To the Boathouse: a Memoir (University Alabama Press), and in November 2008, a cookbook memoir: Provençal Cooking: Savoring the Simple Life in France (Pegasus Books).
She was married to Peter Caws and is the mother of Hilary Caws-Elwitt and of Matthew Caws, lead singer of the band Nada Surf. She is married to Dr. Boyce Bennett; they live in New York City.
She is Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Literature, English, and French at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, and on the film faculty. She is an expert on Surrealism and modern English and French literature, having written biographies of Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Henry James. She works on the interrelations of visual art and literary texts, has written biographies of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, and edited the diaries, letters, and source material of Joseph Cornell. She has also written on André Breton, Robert Desnos, René Char, Yves Bonnefoy, Robert Motherwell, and Edmond Jabès. She served as the senior editor for the HarperCollins World Reader, and edited anthologies including Manifesto: A Century of Isms, Surrealism, and the Yale Anthology of 20th-Century French Poetry. Among others, she has translated Stéphane Mallarmé, Tristan Tzara, Pierre Reverdy, André Breton, Paul Éluard, Robert Desnos, and René Char.
Among the positions she has held are President, Association for Study of Dada and Surrealism, 1971–75 and President, Modern Language Association of America, 1983, Academy of Literary Studies, 1984–85, and the American Comparative Literature Association, 1989-91.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities.
In October 2004, she published her autobiography, To the Boathouse: a Memoir (University Alabama Press), and in November 2008, a cookbook memoir: Provençal Cooking: Savoring the Simple Life in France (Pegasus Books).
She was married to Peter Caws and is the mother of Hilary Caws-Elwitt and of Matthew Caws, lead singer of the band Nada Surf. She is married to Dr. Boyce Bennett; they live in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 31, 2018
Large format, interesting selection — not your typical surrealism, but a much deeper dive. Lots of collage and readymades. The text is small print and not to helpful. So mixed results...
August 16, 2018
Bom dia.
Surrealism je muj nejoblibenejsi zanr hned po zanrech sex, Nicolas Cage, nemecke tanky a jaggermeister, takze jsem si chtel rozsirit vedomosti. Nejsem totiz 2Pec, tedy tupec.
Uvod hezkej, par zajimavosti o vzniku, pohnutkach, Bretonovi a spol, pak 200 stran fotek. Par lidi jsem neznal a za to, ze se kniha netocila kolem deseti proflaklych jmen jsem docela rad. Ze se tu objevi treba i Jindrich Heisler jsem necekal. Cekani nemam rad, hlavne na autobus nebo na nejaky lidi, takze za to, ze jsem nemusel cekat davam osm hvezd.
Surrealism je muj nejoblibenejsi zanr hned po zanrech sex, Nicolas Cage, nemecke tanky a jaggermeister, takze jsem si chtel rozsirit vedomosti. Nejsem totiz 2Pec, tedy tupec.
Uvod hezkej, par zajimavosti o vzniku, pohnutkach, Bretonovi a spol, pak 200 stran fotek. Par lidi jsem neznal a za to, ze se kniha netocila kolem deseti proflaklych jmen jsem docela rad. Ze se tu objevi treba i Jindrich Heisler jsem necekal. Cekani nemam rad, hlavne na autobus nebo na nejaky lidi, takze za to, ze jsem nemusel cekat davam osm hvezd.
December 1, 2025
Ive unconsciously loved surrealist art for a long time. This book is a good stepping stone into the world of famous surrealist artists. Would’ve appreciated more representation of female artists though.
August 11, 2017
Well worth seeking out if you want a little historical background to some key pieces and movements of surrealism.
Felt women could have been better represented.
Felt women could have been better represented.
May 25, 2020
Very good reproductions. A nice survey that includes many lesser known artists, as well as more obscure works from the heavy hitters. I see this best as a companion to a comprehensive text on the subject. One thing I particularly liked is the rich detail in the image captions. There’s a lot to digest if you spend the time.
May 12, 2016
Más lecturas para el TFG
April 12, 2017
This book is very dun to read and it is very informative. the book introduces surrealism in different subsections : chance and freedom, poetics of vision, elusive objects, desire, delirium,and infinite terrains. Getting fundamental knowledge is guaranteed with this book. The only thing I am missing in this book is the lacking literature side of the surrealism. I wished to see some texts, poems from the artists even though I know it was out of scope of the book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews