Art Movements

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Surrealism

Surrealism officially emerged as a movement in art, although no necessarily a movement in the visual arts, with the 1924 publication of a manifesto by the French poet Andre Breton. Surrealism was an artistic, intellectual, and literary movement and the Surrealists sought to overthrow the oppressive rules of modern society by demolishing its backbone of rational thought.

 'Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.'

Salvador Dali

Library Resources
Web Resources

Library Resources

On the shelves:

Use the Library catalogue to locate information on the following:

Dewey Number

  • Surrealist painting 759.0663

Keyword Searching

  • Surrealist
  • Surrealism

You could also enter the names of individual artists, such as:

Collection Highlights

  • Dali: the Salvador Dali Museum collection. The collection provides a view of Dali's career, from his student days in Madrid to the work that sprang from his interactions with Frederico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel, and from his entry into the French surrealist movement in 1929 to his subsequent break with Andre Breton.
  • James Gleeson: images from the shadows by Renee Free.  This was the first book that explored James Gleeson's work.
  • Joseph Cornell: wunderlust.  First published on the occasion 'Joseph Cornell: Wunderlust" Royal Academy of the Arts, London 4 July 27 September 2015, 'Joseph Cornell: Fernwch' Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, October 20, 2015-January 10, 2016.
  • Surrealism: revolution by night. Published to accompany the exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Australia in 1993.  This was considered a ground-breaking exhibition in Australia, as it was the first one dedicated to surrealism.

Reference Resources

For a brief outline of surrealism in the visual arts, you could refer to the following reference books:

Web Resources

General sites:

Surrealist artists on the Web:

Referencing advice: The TASC and your teachers at St Patrick's College expect you to present your work with citations and a reference list in the Harvard (author/date) format. Go to the Library's Referencing Guidelines for extended help in this area. The Library staff are always happy to help you with any queries you may have in regard to referencing requirements for any research you are undertaking.

If you are lucky enough to visit the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart there are additional guidelines you will be required to use when referencing material from their O-device. Please ask at the Library or your teacher for help.


Faculty resources: All material purchased by teachers in the visual arts is also available for student use if it is not required by teachers. Many of these resources are inter-shelved with the Library material and may be found by using the Library catalogue.

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