Surrealism. Surrealism and American Art, 1931–1947 by Jeffrey Wechsler. Exhibition catalog.

Rutgers University Art Gallery, 1977. Wraps, near fine with a few small indentations on rear cover.  116 pages. 158 catalog illustrations, plus small text illustrations, most in black-and-white with a few in color. Includes art in a wide variety of media, including photography. Chapter on photography and surrealism.  Photographers include George Platt Lynes, David Hare, and Clarence John Laughlin. LC Catalog No. 76-620092. Not issued with ISBN number.  Summary:

Surrealism and American Art, 1931–1947 is a foundational exhibition catalog authored by Jeffrey Wechsler for the Rutgers University Art Gallery, now the Zimmerle Art Museum. It remains a critical scholarly resource for understanding how the European Surrealist movement—led by figures like André Breton and Salvador Dalí—was transplanted, absorbed, and eventually transformed by American artists during the Great Depression and World War II.

Core Themes and Historical Scope

• The American Synthesis: Wechsler argues that American Surrealism was not merely a derivative of the European avant-garde. Instead, American artists fused Surrealist techniques (like automatism and dream imagery) with indigenous traditions of Social Realism, Precisionism, and Magic Realism.

• Timeline of Influence: The book traces the movement from its formal introduction at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1931 to its peak in 1947, just as Abstract Expressionism began to eclipse it. It documents how the arrival of exiled European artists in New York during the war acted as a catalyst for local innovation.

• The "Social" Surreal: A major theme is "Social Surrealism," where artists used dreamlike or nightmarish distortions to critique American poverty, industrial decay, and the looming threat of fascism.

Key Artists and Artistic Style

• Major Figures: The book highlights the work of Federico Castellón, Peter Blume, Helen Lundeberg, and Dorothea Tanning. It also explores the "Post-Surrealist" movement on the West Coast.

• Visual Language: Wechsler focuses on the technical "Extra Finish" of these paintings—the use of tight, academic brushwork to render impossible, subconscious landscapes with a hyper-realistic clarity that made the "unreal" feel tangibly "real."