28 people matching these criteria:
- group '103'
Surrealists and their circle
Launched by the French poet André Breton in Paris in 1924, the surrealist movement was intended to be an artistic and literary revolution that would occupy an international stage. Artists across the channel in Britain, mainly working in London and Birmingham, would interpret the driving forces of the movement. Heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories, they attempted to reconcile the unconscious with rational life in their work. They explored the power of dreams, embracing automatism, freeing them from the constraints of conscious thought. In 1936, David Emery Gascoyne, Roland Penrose, Paul Nash and Sir Herbert Read established the British Surrealist group and organized the International Surrealist Exhibition. Held in the New Burlington Gardens, it featured 400 works by artists from 13 different countries and attracted around 1000 visitors per day. The outbreak of WWII forced many artists to move abroad but the influence of the Surrealists and their circle on 20th century and contemporary art is undeniable.
Painter, art collector; WW2 camoufleur and writer on art
Sitter in 16 portraits | Artist of 1 portrait