The Surrealist Book

October 4, 2026 – January 23, 2027, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Toyen, artist. Jindřich Heisler, author. Z kasemat spánku: Realisované básně (From the Strongholds of Sleep: Realized Poems). Published 1940. Book with eight gelatin silver prints, including title page (staged environments by Toyen and Heisler, photographed by Miro Bernat and Viktor Radnický), each mounted on metallic paper; printed text. Pages: 6 1/8 × 5 1/16 in. (15.5 × 12.9 cm). Publisher: Edice Surrealismu, Prague. Edition: no. 2 of 17. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Helen and Sam Zell

Photo by Martin Parsekian© 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

"The Museum of Modern Art will present The Surrealist Book, an exhibition showcasing the propulsive impact of artists’ books within the Surrealist movement. For the artists and writers associated with Surrealism, the book was an ideal vehicle for subversive experimentation and the promotion of their revolutionary tenets. Working collaboratively to unlock the unconscious, they transformed the bound volume into a provocative new art form, an enchanted portal to the unexpected, the irrational, or what they called the “marvelous.” On view at MoMA from October 4, 2026, through January 23, 2027, The Surrealist Book features a selection of rare volumes produced by Surrealism’s most imaginative artists and writers, including André Breton, Claude Cahun, Salvador Dalí, Paul Éluard, Max Ernst, and Toyen. The exhibition is organized by Jodi Hauptman, The Robert Lehman Chief Curator, and Starr Figura, Curator, with Kolleen Ku, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints".

Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.