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Surrealism: Surrealism at MoMA

Surrealism at MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art has a long history supporting Surrealist artists and work. Below is a selection of exhibitions, catalogues, and content supported or produced by the museum. 

Installation view, Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism, December 7, 1936–January 17, 1937, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA Archives, NY.

Surrealist Exhibitions at MoMA

Start Date End Date Exhibition Title
12/09/1936 01/17/1937 Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism
07/23/1941 09/29/1941 New Acquisitions: Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism
09/17/1965 12/14/1965 Recent Acquisitions: Kay Sage Tanguy Bequest
03/27/1968 06/09/1968 Dada, Surrealism and Their Heritage

04/03/1968

07/28/1968

 Photographs Before Surrealism

04/23/1968 

04/25/1968 

 Cezanne to Miró

02/11/1971

04/18/1971

 Surrealist Illusion from the Museum Collection 
08/06/1987 12/08/1987 Surrealist Prints from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art
04/18/1991 09/03/1991 The Surrealist Drawing: A Selection from the Collection

04/15/1993

07/06/1993 

 Dada and Surrealism: Selections from the Collection
10/17/1993 01/11/1994 Miró Prints and Books from New York Collections

04/14/1994

07/05/1994

 American Surrealist Photography 
11/19/1998 02/02/1999 Miró’s Black and Red Series: A New Acquisition in Context

11/06/2006

01/22/2007

 America Fantastica: Art, Literature, and the Surrealist Legacy in Experimental Publishing, 1938–1968 (Library Exhibition) 
04/08/2009 

06/22/2009 

 How to Make a Modern Art Library: Selections from the Éluard-Dausse Collection (Library Exhibition) 

06/24/2009

 01/04/2010 The Erotic Object: Surrealist Sculpture from the Collection
03/14/2012 07/09/2012 Exquisite Corpses: Drawing and Disfiguration

10/21/2019

04/11/2021

Collection 1950s–1970s | 518 - A Surrealist Art History

10/21/2019

02/05/2023

Collection 1940s–1970s | 401 - Out of War
10/21/2019 Ongoing Collection 1880s-1940s | 517 - Surrealist Objects
Start Date End Date Exhibition Title
11/19/1941 01/11/1942 Salvador Dalí
11/19/1941 01/11/1942 Joan Miró
09/29/1943 01/16/1944 Alexander Calder
03/02/1948 04/04/1948 Miró Mural
07/07/1954 09/19/1954 Prints by Paul Klee
09/11/1957 10/20/1957 Matta
10/08/1958 11/30/1958 Jean Arp: A Retrospective
03/19/1959 05/10/1959 Joan Miró
03/01/1961 05/08/1961 Max Ernst
03/09/1970 05/11/1970 Joan Miró: Fifty Recent Prints
09/30/1972 11/08/1972 New Acquisitions: Three Mirós
10/09/1973 01/27/1974 Miró in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art
06/02/1976 08/17/1976 André Masson
11/18/1976 12/07/1976 Man Ray, 1890–1976
12/15/1977 03/5/1978 Arp on Paper
01/08/1979 04/03/1979 Paul Klee Centennial: Prints and Transfer Drawings
04/14/1983 04/26/1983 Joan Miró: A Ninetieth-Birthday Tribute
12/27/1983 01/03/1984 Joan Miró, 1893–1983
03/14/1993 05/02/1993 Max Ernst: Dada and the Dawn of Surrealism
10/11/2001 01/08/2002 Alberto Giacometti
06/20/2008 06/28/2008 Salvador Dalí: Creator/Collaborator (Film Series)
06/29/2008 09/15/2008 Dalí: Painting and Film
07/07/2008 07/16/2008 Dalí Laughs (Film Series)
07/23/2008 07/28/2008 Salvador Dalí and Three American Surrealists (Film Series)
09/10/2008 09/11/2008 Dalí in New York (Film Series)
09/10/2008 09/15/2008 Salvador Dalí: Creator/Collaborator Redux (Film Series)
11/02/2008 01/12/2009 Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927–1937
09/28/2013 01/12/2014 Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926–1938
09/23/2017 01/01/2018 Max Ernst: Beyond Painting
02/24/2019 06/15/2019 Joan Miró: Birth of the World
Fall 2020 Spring 2021 Collection | 523 - Joan Miró’s Self-Portrait I
10/30/2022 03/04/2023 Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition

Selected MoMA Publications
 

Group Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

MoMA Online Resources

Cadavre Exquis (Exquisite Corpse)

Cadavre Exquis at MoMA

A game in which each participant takes turns writing or drawing on a sheet of paper, folding it to conceal his or her contribution, and then passing it to the next player for a further contribution. The game gained popularity in artistic circles during the 1920s when it was adopted as a technique by artists of the Surrealist movement to generate collaborative compositions. Learn more about the game below: