Books

First published in 1979, this updated edition of the pioneering study in the World of Art series surveys a full century of performance, from the Futurist manifesto of 1909 through the second decade of the new millennium. The standard reference since its...

A selection of dream epiphanies and reveries from Joseph Cornell's voluminous diaries Joseph Cornell is well known for the oneiric quality of his art and films. Many have tried, often in vain, to put into words the strange power of his boxes—toy-like...

Bound in a gorgeous cloth cover, this is the first overview in 20 years on Wolfgang Paalen, international ambassador for surrealism, abstract expressionist precursor and creator of the “fumage” technique The extraordinary German Austrian Mexican painter,...

A wide-ranging selection of works from Calder’s most prolific period highlights the role of time in his groundbreaking sculptural practice Francisco Goya claimed in 1801 that “time also paints.” More than 200 years later, this quote, now turned maxim,...

Based on the original 1863 edition, this presentation of Goya's 80 etchings decries the consequences of war through his bleak, gruesome and unflinching imagery Following his tenure as court painter for the Spanish royal family, Francisco de Goya's art...

 A specialized monograph on the artist whose importance has finally been recognized, given clarity by recent biographical research. This beautifully illustrated book, the first monograph on Wifredo Lam since 1989, provides a comprehensive...

First discovered, celebrated and published by the Surrealists at the age of 14 (they declared her the “new Alice”), Gisèle Prassinos quickly found herself established in the literary world as a fount of automatic tales freighted with transgressive humor...

Before psychogeography, the Situationists and dream urbanism, there was Paris Peasant, a pioneering Surrealist excavation of the twentieth century's capital city Paris Peasant (1926) is one of the central works of Surrealism, yet Exact Change's edition...

This seminal 1929 surrealist novel by the painter Giorgio de Chirico merges the realms of dream and reality. In the artist’s only novel, de Chirico invites the reader into a world where language, time, space, and meaning are fluid, highlighting...

An exciting collection of the essential writings of surrealism, the European avant-garde movement of the mind’s deepest powers Originating in 1916 with the avant-garde Dada movement at the famous Café Voltaire in Zurich, surrealism aimed to unleash the...

Breton’s late treatise on magic and art appears for the first time in English, complete with citations, commentaries and a bibliography What is “Magic Art”? In 1953, André Breton, founder of the Surrealist movement, was invited by a prestigious French...

A lively history of the Surrealists, both known and unknown, by one of the last surviving members of the movement—artist and bestselling author Desmond Morris. Surrealism did not begin as an art movement but as a philosophical strategy, a way of life,...

Why does Surrealism continue to fascinate us a century after André Breton’s Manifesto of Surrealism? How do we encounter Surrealism today? Mark Polizzotti vibrantly reframes the Surrealist movement in contemporary terms and offers insight into why it...

An absorbing group biography revealing how exiles from war-torn France brought surrealism to America, sparking the movement that became abstract expressionism. In 1957 the American artist Robert Motherwell made an unexpected claim: "I have only known...

In Montparnasse begins on the eve of the First World War and ends with the 1936 unveiling of Dalí’s Lobster Telephone. As those extraordinary years unfolded, the Surrealists found ever more innovative ways of exploring the interior life, and asking...

A concise compendium of the lives and work of the 101 most significant surrealists by one of the last surviving members of the movement, bestselling author and artist Desmond Morris, who knew several of the key participants personally. 2024 marks the...

Unleash the unconscious Provoking the establishment with primal instincts With Salvador Dalí as its figurehead, the great ship of Surrealism traversed the turbulent seas of the early 20th century with sails billowing with dreams and desires. Inspired by...

A Date with Destiny The art of astrology, from ancient science to modern-day practice From the beginning of human history, individuals across cultures and belief systems have looked to the sky for meaning. The movement of celestial bodies and their...

To explore the Tarot is to explore ourselves, to be reminded of the universality of our longing for meaning, for purpose and for a connection to the divine. This 600-year-old tradition reflects not only a  history of seekers, but our journey of...

Celebrating the stories and symbolism of the king of mythical beasts, the Pocket Book of Dragons explores dragons throughout history and across the world.  Overflowing with ancient and modern dragon tales from every corner of the globe and...