Surrealism Timeline

Discover the important dates of the surrealist movement with our historical timeline of the surrealism.

1917

Guillaume Apollinaire uses the word surrealist for the first time.
The artists André Breton and Louis Aragon meet.

1919

March: The Littérature journal, which is directed by André Breton, Louis Aragon and Philippe Soupault, publishes its first issue.
May: Automatic writing is born from the hands of André Breton and Philippe Soupault when drafting The Magnetic Fields.

1920

January 17th: the artist Tristan Tzara disembarks in Paris.
January 23rd: Le Palais des fêtes in Paris has the first Literature Friday.
May 30th: Publication of the Magnetic Fields at Sans Pareil.

1921

April 14th: Separation of André Breton and Tristan Tzara during a final demonstration of Dadaism.
May 13th: Scandal in the Barrés trial hall of the Learned Societies.
December: There is a collective exhibition of works by Joan Miró and Man Ray in Paris

1922

Creation of the "motion blur", which will become Surrealism in 1924
Mars: new publication of Littérature
April: André Breton finally quits the Dada movement

1923

July: Tristan Tzara organizes an evening at the Michel Theater with the Russian poet Iliazd.
September: Artist André Breton meets poet Saint-Pol-Roux.

1924

October 15th: Writer André Breton publishes the Surrealist Manifesto
December 1st: The first copy of The Surrealist Revolution is published

1925

June: The Pierre Gallery holds an exhibition of artist Joan Miro in Paris
August: On the occasion of the war in Morocco, the surrealism movement turns to communism

1926

March: Man Ray creates a scandal with his Oceanic statues, called indecent, exhibited in Paris

1927

January: The founder of Surrealism, André Breton joins the Communist Party.
June: the Surrealist Gallery holds an exhibition of paintings made by Yves Tanguy.

1928

Un Chien Andalou, famous surrealist film, by Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel is presented to the public for the first time.

1929

June: The Variety magazine publishes a special issue: "Surrealism in 1929".
October: The film Un Chien Andalou by Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel is screened in the studio 28 of Paris

1930

March: The third Surrealist Manifesto by Robert Desnos is published
June: The second Surrealist Manifesto is published by Éditions Kra.
July: The first issue of Surrealism in the service of the revolution, led by André Breton, is published

1931

First exhibition of surrealist artists (Dali, De Chirico, Ernst, Miró) in Hartford, United States.
Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel come back with the Golden Age film

1932

The Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists is created
A surrealist exhibition is held In New York

1933

May: The Prague Devestil group joins the Surrealist movement.
June: The Minotaure surrealist journal publishes its first issue

1934

Salvador Dali visits the City of New York
The Royal Museum holds an exhibition of surrealist works in Brussels

1935

February: The artist Alberto Giacometti is ousted from the group.
April 9th: First issue of the International Surrealist Bulletin.
June18th: Tragic Death of writer René Crevel in Paris
October: Foundation of surrealist group Contre Attaque.
November: Pierre gallery holds an exhibition of works by Victor Brauner

1936

March: The Surrealist group Contre Attaque decides to split.
May: Charles Ratton Gallery holds a surrealist exhibition in Paris
July: A second international surrealist exhibition is held in London, with artists such as Duchamp, Giacometti, Picasso...
December: The MoMa museum holds an exhibition of surrealist and Dada art in New York

1937 André Breton publishes “De l’humor noir” (The Black Humor) book, GLM.

1938

The Gallery of Fine Arts presents an international exhibition of Surrealism in Paris. André Breton meets Leon Trotsky in Mexico to write the Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art.

1939

Exile of the surrealists to the United States
Suddenly, the artist Salvador Dali is rejected from the Surrealism

1940

The International Exhibition of Surrealism is held in Mexico City
In the South of France, surrealist artists gather together.

1941

July: Because of the war, André Breton exiled himself to New York

1942

The Art of this Century Gallery of Peggy Guggenheim celebrates its opening in New York.

1945

A retrospective of the works of Max Ernst is held in Paris

1946

André Breton is back in France

1947

International Exhibition of Surrealism

1949

The Drouin Gallery holds a retrospective of paintings by Francis Picabia in Paris

1950

The Drouin Gallery holds an exhibition of works by Max Ernst in Paris

1952

November 18th: Death of Paul Eluard in Charenton-le-Pont in France

1953

November 30th: Death of painter Francis Picabia in Paris

1954

The laureate of the Venice Biennale are Max Ernst, Jean Arp and Joan Miró

1955

January 15th: Death of the French artist Yves Tanguy in Paris

1956

A retrospective of the works of Max Ernst is held in Berlin

1957

January 1st: Tragic Death of the artist Óscar Domínguez in Paris

1959

The Museum of Modern Art holds a retrospective of the works of Max Ernst in Paris

1960

A major international exhibition on Surrealism is held in Paris

1963

December 25th: Death of the famous Tristan Tzara in Paris, France

1964

The Charpentier Gallery holds a retrospective about the Surrealism in Paris

1965

The Museum of Modern Art holds a retrospective of the work of André Masson in Paris

1966

Historical end of the Surrealism.
June 7th: Death of Jean Arp in Basel, Switzerland
September 28th: Death of the poet André Breton in Paris

1967

August 15th: Death of artist René Magritte in Lessines, Belgium