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Surrealist Art

SURREALIST STYLE

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Surrealist
Unité, Planche 10 (Set of 2) /// Surrealism Modern Art Le Corbusier Nude Animal
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret) (Swiss-French, 1887-1965) Title: "Unité, Planche 10" (Set of 2) Portfolio: Unité *Signed by Le Corbusier in pencil lower right. It is...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint, Intaglio

"Dreamy Rabbit", Surreal, Contemporary, Dreamlike, Blue, Purple, Oil Painting
Located in Franklin, MA
Anita Zotkina’s “Dreamy Rabbit” is a 20 x 16 x 0.7 inch oil painting on canvas that blends luminous contrasts, soft lines, and flowing forms. This surreal, contemporary work depicts ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

(after) Marino Marini - "Composition" pochoir
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed by the atelier of Daniel Jacomet, and published in Paris in 1955 by Heinz Berggruen. The image measures 5 x 3 1/2 inches (130 x 90 mm)...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Release of the Psychic Spirit ( Tarot ) original lithograph Salvador Dali 1977
Located in Paonia, CO
Release of the Psychic Spirit from Magic Butterfly & the Dream ( Tarot ) suite is an original signed limited ed. 5/250 lithograph by Salvador Dali. Published by Levine and Levi...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

(after) Charles Lapicque lithograph "Homage to Dufy"
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: lithograph (after the watercolor). Charles Lapicque was one of the artists who contributed compositions to Marcelle Oury's "Lettre à mon peintre" in homage to Raoul Dufy. Thi...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Africa, Men
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity About Artist Oluw...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Two Sides", Surreal, Peacocks, Birds, Cosmic, Blue, White, Oil Painting
Located in Franklin, MA
Anita Zotkina’s “Two Sides” is an 18 x 24 x 0.7 inch surreal oil painting on gallery-wrapped canvas. Inspired by thoughts on duality, the composition reflects how light and darkness ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Studio Sketch of Jenny", Surrealist, Green, Pink, Collage, Acrylic Painting
Located in Franklin, MA
John Baker’s “Studio Sketch of Jenny” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 16 x 12 inches in mint greens, oranges and pinks. When she visited my studio Jenny seemed somewhat...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Ladies of the Renaissance
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Salvador Dali Title: Ladies of the Renaissance Medium: Drypoint and aquatint in color on paper Year: 1971 Edition: IV/L Sheet Size: 22 7/8" x 31 1/8" Image Size: 15 1/2" x 22...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

RENÉ MAGRITTE: LA MAGIE NOIRE, 1945 - Limited edition Lithograph Surrealism
Located in Madrid, Madrid
LA MAGIE NOIRE, 1945 (BLACK MAGIC) Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Observations: Lithograph on BFK Rives paper plate signed...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

RENÉ MAGRITTE - GOLCONDE, 1953 Limited edition Lithograph - Surrealism
Located in Madrid, Madrid
GOLCONDE, 1953 Date of creation: 2010 Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives Paper Edition: 275 Size: 60 x 45 cm Observations: Lithograph on BFK Rives paper plate signed and numbered of a l...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

"Nude Breakfast", A Fantastic Surrealist Mid-Century Modern Oil: Couple at Table
Located in Chicago, IL
"Nude Breakfast", A Fantastic Surrealist Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Nude Couple at a Breakfast Table by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Executed in ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board, Graphite

"l'Arcangelo" From the suite "Les Vtraux"
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled, "l'Arcangelo (The Archangel)" from the suite, "lLes Vitaux" 1973 is an original colors lithograph on watermarked Arches paper by artist Salvador Dali 1904-1989....
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Enigma of the Rose (Death), Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dalí­
Located in Long Island City, NY
Enigma of the Rose (Death) from Visions Surrealiste Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904–1989) Portfolio: Visions Surrealiste Date: 1976 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

A Surrealist Abstract 1950s Mid-Century Modern Female Nude Bather, Beach Scene
Located in Chicago, IL
A Visually Striking Abstract Surrealist 1950s Mid-Century Modern Beach Scene of a Female Nude Bather by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). "Model on Beach", Oil ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Board, Graphite

Surreal intimate scene, green and blue, boat and fashion magazine
Located in Carballo, ES
Ventura A. Pérez (1992) is one of the most seductive artists on the contemporary Spanish scene. After earning a doctorate in contemporary art from the University of Vigo, he moved to...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Figure on a blue background" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Catalogue reference: Mourlot 244. This charming Miro lithograph was printed by Mourlot for XXe Siecle in 1957 for issue number 8 "Art et humour au XXe Si...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Ancient Stock Route - original surrealism landscape painting - contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Ancient Stock Route" by George Callaghan is a mesmerizing jou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tomano Monote (Cupcake Boy)
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Alejandro Colunga is a renowned Mexican artist born in 1948 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He is part of the Nueva Mexicanidad movement and is celebrated for his surrealist and fantastical...
Category

1990s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching, Gouache, Aquatint

Surrealist Still Life - Original Oil on Canvas, Handsigned
By Roland Bierge
Located in Paris, IDF
Roland Bierge Surrealist Still Life, 1968 Original Oil on canvas Handsigned on the lower right corner Signed, dated and titled on the back On canvas 54 x 70 cm (c. 22 x 28 in) Pres...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Obsession of the Heart (The World), Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dalí­
Located in Long Island City, NY
Obsession of the Heart Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904–1989) Portfolio: Visions Surrealiste Date: 1976 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 100/150 Size: 29 x 21 in. (73...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - Abstract Botanical Study
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: 1960's British Surrealist Oil Painting - Abstract Botanical Study Medium: Oil on board, unframed Size: 6 height x 4 width Condition: Good Provenance: all the paintings we hav...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

TIE Fighter Beatles Large Oversize Pop Art Print Signed Limited Edition
Located in London, GB
TIE Fighter Beatles by B A T I K Pop art work featuring the Fab Four Paul McCartney , George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon running away from Star Wars TIE fighters chasing...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Black and White, Archival Pigment

Miró, Composition (Cramer 102; Mourlot 428-449), Derrière le miroir (after)
Located in Southampton, NY
Lithograph on vélin paper. Paper Size: 15 x 11 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered. Notes: From the folio, Derrière le miroir, N° 151-152, 1965. Published by Aimé Maeght, Éd...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

The Good Life 1978 Signed Limited Edition Art Lithograph
Located in Rochester Hills, MI
Artist Mati (Abdul) Klarwein Title: The Good Life Year: 1978 Print - Lithograph Paper Size 23" x 23½" inches Edition: signed in pencil and marked 3/300 Hand embellished by the artis...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Personnage (Mourlot 244), Société internationale d'art XXe siècle
Located in Southampton, NY
Lithograph, stencil on vélin paper. Paper Size: 12.4 x 9.65 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Catalogue raisonné references: Queneau, Raymond. Joan Miró, Litho...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

(after) Marino Marini - "Le cheval au manège" pochoir
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed by the atelier of Daniel Jacomet, and published in Paris in 1955 by Heinz Berggruen. The image measures 5 x 3 3/4 inches (130 x 93 mm)...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

The Petrified Origin oil on canvas painting Antoni Pitxot
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Title: The Petrified Origin Artist: Antoni Pitxot i Soler (1934–2015) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 25.6 x 31.9 in (65 x 81 cm) Date: 1967 Condition: Unframed Signature: Signed lower right: Pitxot Provenance: Private collection Notes: Early work from Pitxot’s mature period, featuring the symbolic and meticulously rendered stone forms that would define his artistic identity. 📝 Work Description In The Petrified Origin, Antoni Pitxot presents a haunting and timeless vision of a single, eroded rock suspended in a dreamlike, undefined space. The stone, modeled with sculptural precision, appears to float over a subtly reflective surface, devoid of background or narrative context. Its porous texture, cracks, and shadows evoke a fossilized memory — a silent relic of geological time. Painted in 1967, this piece exemplifies Pitxot's unique visual language, developed through his practice of collecting stones along the Costa Brava and transforming them into anthropomorphic and symbolic compositions. The result is both surreal and solemn, an ode to nature’s memory and the enduring presence of the inanimate. 👤 About the Artist Antoni Pitxot i Soler (born in Figueres, 1934 – died in Barcelona, 2015) was a Catalan painter deeply rooted in the surrealist tradition. Coming from an artistic family —his uncle was Ramon Pichot, a friend of Picasso and Dalí— Pitxot trained as a draughtsman and painter from a young age. In the 1960s, he settled in Cadaqués, where he developed his distinct artistic universe. His paintings revolve around stone as a symbol of permanence, transformation, and memory. Pitxot created sculptural assemblages from real coastal stones and later immortalized them in oil on canvas. His works often hint at human figures, ancient myths, and allegories of time. 🎭 Connection with Salvador Dalí Pitxot was not only a close friend of Salvador Dalí but also one of his closest collaborators. Dalí admired his work and invited him to co-design the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres. After Dalí’s death...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mystery of Sleep (The Hermit), Signed Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dali
Located in Long Island City, NY
A clock-faced figure wearing monk's robes floats in a blue void above a roiling storm cloud. This Surrealist lithograph by Salvador Dali shows the figure in movement, traveling with ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Smoking Lady" (2024) By Nadezda, Original Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
Nadezda's beautiful new oil on panel painting "Smoking Lady" (2024) is an abstract portrait of a woman wearing a black dress smoking inside of her brightly colored house, she is stan...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Meeting Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Tigran Hovumyan Figurative Surrealist Oil Painter Artwork Title: Meeting Medium: Original Oil on Linen Dimensions: 36" x 47" x 1" (91 x 120 x 3 cm) Year: 2012 Unframed, Stretched o...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

At The Warehouse - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Woman, Dog
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Joan Miro, L’Oro dell’Azzurro (Framed)
Located in Manchester, GB
Joan Miro, L’Oro dell’Azzurro (Framed) Giclee print Framed in a sustainably sourced black frame gallery with UV protection acrylic glazing 67 x 80 cm 'The Gold of the Azure' w...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

Gaze 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Men
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity About Artist Oluw...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Côte d'Azur. Sun, Sea and Sand. Mid-Century Oil on Canvas.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-century oil on canvas of a summer scene on the Côte d'Azur. The work is signed but the artist unknown. This artwork is a vibrant and eclectic composition that captures the essen...
Category

Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figura de Pie, Surrealist Mixografia Print by Rufino Tamayo
Located in Long Island City, NY
Rufino Tamayo, Mexican (1899 - 1991) - Figura de Pie, Year: 1977, Medium: Mixografia, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 91/100, Size: 27.5 x 19.5 in. (69.85 x 49.53 cm), Pr...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

The House at the End of the Road - Blue Original Floral Artwork on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Carlos Gamez de Francisco’s "The House at the End of the Road" is a striking blend of hyperrealism, figurative surrealism, and imaginative narrative art. This 12-inch round acrylic p...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13)
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Antiombrelle à atomiseurs de liquides (Michler/Löpsinger 822-831; Field 75-13), Imaginations et Objets du Futur (Liquid atomizer anti-shade, ...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Drypoint, Lithograph, Screen

The bath.
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
In 1981 Maggie Taylor (b. 1961) began to photograph while she was a student at Yale University majoring in philosophy. She primarily took photographs of suburban landscapes and stran...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Contemporary Botanical Portrait. Original Print on Dibond 24/25. Luckily Alive
Located in FISTERRA, ES
This limited-edition Dibond UV print belongs to Natasha Lelenco’s Fetiches series, an artistic exploration of portraiture intertwined with organic motifs. Numbered 24 of 25, each pri...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Metal

Rene Magritte 'Les Promenades D'Euclide' 1973- Vintage
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This reproduction of the Magritte painting is the only authorized and approved copy in its current format. It has been sanctioned by the appropriate authorities managing Magritte’s e...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Offset

Surrealist composition
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the Miro lithograph). Printed in 1947 in an edition of 1500 by Meriden Gravure and published by Curt Valentin for "The Prints of Joan Miro" portfolio. Size: ...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Equestrian Style and Decor II - Contemporary surrealistic horse painting
Located in DE
Gamez de Francisco paints and photographs very passionately, making statements filled with symbolism. He frequently includes insects in his artwork. He says: Flying insects represent...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid Century San Francisco Nocturnal Surrealist Oil Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century Nocturnal Surrealist Oil Painting--San Francisco Unreal Dreams by Russell Tripp Dramatic and atmospheric San Francisco surrealist figurative painting by Russell R. Tripp...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

L’Oro dell’Azzurro (Framed)
Located in Manchester, GB
Joan Miro, L’Oro dell’Azzurro (Framed) Giclee print Framed in a sustainably sourced black frame gallery with UV protection acrylic glazing 67 x 80 cm 'The Gold of the Azure' w...
Category

2010s Surrealist Art

Materials

Giclée

The Occasion
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Maggie Taylor's digital creations are emblematic, afterimages that invite, transport and are unforgettable. Taylor's images are built, layer by layer and object by object, through a ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

The Coronation of Gala (The Empress), Surrealist Lithograph by Salvador Dalí­
Located in Long Island City, NY
The Coronation of Gala (The Empress) from Visions Surrealiste Salvador Dali, Spanish (1904–1989) Portfolio: Visions Surrealiste Date: 1976 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil E...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Femme Nu
Located in OPOLE, PL
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) - Femme Nu Photogravure from 1952. Dimensions of work: 35.5 x 26.4 cm Publisher: Tériade, Paris. The work is in Excellent condition. Fast and secure sh...
Category

1950s Surrealist Art

Materials

Photogravure

La Grande Guerre - 20th Century, Surrealist, Lithograph, Figurative Print
Located in Sint-Truiden, BE
Color lithograph after the 1954 oil on canvas by René Magritte, plate-signed by Magritte and numbered from the edition of 300. The lithograph features the dry stamps of the Magritte...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

'Together' — Mid-Century Surrealism, Atelier 17
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Ian Hugo, 'Together', from the portfolio 'Ten Engravings'. engraving, 1946, edition 50. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '22/50' in pencil. A fine impression, with delicate overall plate tone, on cream wove paper, the full sheet with wide margins (2 7/8 to 5 1/2 inches), in excellent condition. With the blind stamp 'madeleine-claude jobrack EDITIONS', in the bottom right margin. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 5 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches (149 x 124 mm); sheet size 15 x 11 1/8 inches (381 x 283 mm). Collection: Indianapolis Museum of Art. Ian Hugo originally created "Ten Engravings" in 1945 and the portfolio included a foreword by his partner and collaborator, Anais Nin. In 1978, Hugo republished the portfolio with Madeleine-Claude Jobrack, an American master printmaker who studied under Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17, Paris, and with Johnny Friedlaender. When Jobrack returned to the States she managed the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Studio in New York before opening her own printing studio, Madeleine-Claude Jobrak Editions. “The sign of the true artist is one who creates a complete universe, invents new plants, new animals, new figures to transfer to us a new vision of the universe in which dream and reality fuse. Ian Hugo's plants have eyes, the birds have the delicacy of dragonflies, their feathers have the shape of fans. Humor is apparent in every gesture. He uses a fine spider web to give a feeling of flight, speed, lightness. The body of a woman reveals the structure of a leaf, a plant. Wings are moving in a world unified by mythological themes. This is an animated world, humorous and levitating, elusive and decorative, which by its unique forms and shapes gives us the sensation of a rebirth, a liberation from the usual, the familiar, a visit to a new planet.” —Anais Nin, from the forward to the portfolio ‘Ten Engravings’ ABOUT THE ARTIST Ian Hugo was born Hugh Parker Guiler in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1898. His childhood was spent in Puerto Rico—a "tropical paradise," the memory of which stayed with him and surfaced in both his engravings and his films. He attended school in Scotland and graduated from Columbia University where he studied economics and literature. Hugo was working with the National City Bank when he met and married author Anais Nin in 1923. The couple moved to Paris the following year, where Nin's diary and Guiler's artistic aspirations flowered. Guiler feared his business associates would not understand his interests in art and music, let alone those of his wife, so he began a second, creative life as Ian Hugo. Ian and Anais moved to New York in 1939. The following year he took up engraving and etching, working at Stanley William Hayter’s experimental printmaking workshop Atelier 17, established at the New School for Social Research. Hugo began producing surreal images often used to illustrate Nin's books. For Nin, his unwavering love and financial support were indispensable—Hugo was the "fixed center, core... my home, my refuge" (Sept. 16, 1937, Nearer the Moon, The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin, 1937-!939). Fictionalized portraits of Higo and Nin appear in Philip Kaufman's 1990 film drama of a literary love triangle, Henry & June. Inspired by comments that viewers saw motion in his engravings, Hugo took up filmmaking. He asked the avant-garde filmmaker Sasha Hammid for instruction but was told, "Use the camera yourself, make your own mistakes, make your own style." Hugo embarked on an exploration of the film medium as a vehicle to delve into his dreams, his unconscious, and his memories. Without a specific plan, He would collect resonant images, then reorder or superimpose them, seeking a sense of self-connection through the poetic juxtapositions he created. These intuitive explorations resembled the mystical evocations of his engravings, which he described in 1946 as "hieroglyphs of a language in which our unconscious is trying to convey important, urgent messages." In the underwater world of his film ‘Bells of Atlantis,’ the light originates from the world above the surface; it is otherworldly, out of place, yet essential. In ‘Jazz of Lights,’ the street lights of Times Square become in Nin's words, "an ephemeral flow of sensations." This flow that she also calls "phantasmagorical" had a crucial impact on Stan Brakhage, who said that without Jazz of Lights (1954), "there would have been no Anticipation of the Night" his autobiographical film which ushered in a new era of experimental modernist filmmaking. Hugo lived the last two decades of his life in a New York apartment high above street level. In the evenings, surrounded by an electrically illuminated man...
Category

1940s Surrealist Art

Materials

Engraving

Casanova : Snail Lady - Original etching (Field #67-4 K)
Located in Paris, IDF
Salvador DALI (1904-1969) Casanova : Snail lady, 1967 Original etching Signed in the plate On vellum Rives 38 x 28 cm (c. 14.9 x 11 inch) REFERENCES : - Catalog raisonné Field #67-...
Category

1960s Surrealist Art

Materials

Etching

Janet and Bill, Surrealist Painting of Woman and Cat w/ Party Hats
Located in Beachwood, OH
Mary Spain (American, 1934–1983) Janet and Bill, 1970s Oil on canvas Signed middle right, titled verso 26 x 30 inches 32.5 x 36.5 inches, framed Set in a realm of fantasy, Mary Spai...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Oil

Magritte, Les Bijoux indiscrets (Kaplan/Baum 3), XXe siècle (after)
Located in Southampton, NY
Lithograph on vélin d'Arches paper. Paper Size: 10.5 x 14 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Catalogue raisonné references: Kaplan, Gilbert E., and T...
Category

1970s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

The weight of the world.
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
In 1981 Maggie Taylor (b. 1961) began to photograph while she was a student at Yale University majoring in philosophy. She primarily took photographs of suburban landscapes and stran...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

Fashion Designer
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Fashion Designer MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Levine & Levine for DALART EDITION NUMBER: I 234/250 MEASUREMENTS: 21" x 29" ...
Category

1980s Surrealist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Surrealist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Leonor Fini. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Lithograph and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $1,450,000, while the average work sells for $1,426.

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