André Breton

(French, 1896–1966)

André Breton was an influential French writer and artist who helped form Surrealism. He is credited with pioneering automatism, the spontaneous act of writing, drawing, or painting as a means to elucidate unconscious thought. “Surrealism is based on the belief in the omnipotence of dreams, in the undirected play of thought,” he once declared. Born on February 19, 1896 in Tinchebray, France, Breton pursued a brief medical career before moving to Paris in the early 1920s, where he quickly joined the city's avant-garde milieu. Inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud, in 1924 he wrote the Manifeste du surréalisme, in which he championed free expression outside the constraints of reason and morality. The manifesto had an immediate impact on peers such as Wifredo Lam and Max Ernst, and would later influence the works of Jackson Pollock. In the late 1920s, Breton joined the French Communist Party and became a lifelong Marxist committed to fighting the rise of fascism. Fleeing from World War II, Breton left France in the early 1940s, living in the United States for several years, where he organized a groundbreaking exhibition of Surrealist Art at Yale University. After the war, Breton returned to Paris, where he continued to publish poetry and essays. He died at the age of 70 on September 28, 1966 in Paris, France. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

André Breton Artworks

André Breton (157 results)
Cadavre Exquis, 1930

Andre Breton, Valentine Hugo and Greta Knutson

Cadavre Exquis, 1930

Sale Date: March 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Cadavre exquis, 1930

Estate of André Breton

Cadavre exquis, 1930

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

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Le Surréalisme en 1947., 1947

Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp

Le Surréalisme en 1947., 1947

Sale Date: November 2, 2023

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Légitime défense. 1926. Exemplaire de..., 1926

André Breton

Légitime défense. 1926. Exemplaire de..., 1926

Sale Date: July 4, 2023

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Sans titre

André Breton

Sans titre

Sale Date: March 29, 2023

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INTRODUCTION AU DISCOURS SUR LE PEU DE RÉALITÉ, 1927

André Breton

INTRODUCTION AU DISCOURS SUR LE PEU DE RÉALITÉ, 1927

Sale Date: March 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Jeu collectif - Rencontre d'un somnambule et , 1938

André Breton

Jeu collectif - Rencontre d'un somnambule et , 1938

Sale Date: March 24, 2023

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Où est Carthage ?, 1958

André Breton

Où est Carthage ?, 1958

Sale Date: April 5, 2023

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Sans titre, 1962

André Breton

Sans titre, 1962

Sale Date: April 5, 2023

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Ode à Charles Fourier., 1947

André Breton

Ode à Charles Fourier., 1947

Sale Date: March 22, 2023

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Photographie originale d'époque, 1957...., 1957

André Breton

Photographie originale d'époque, 1957...., 1957

Sale Date: March 1, 2023

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Poèmes, 1948

André Breton

Poèmes, 1948

Sale Date: November 15, 2022

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[Épreuves corrigées] Manifeste du..., 1924

André Breton

[Épreuves corrigées] Manifeste du..., 1924

Sale Date: November 3, 2022

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Le Dr Hausmann et le fantôme de sa fille..., 1935

André Breton

Le Dr Hausmann et le fantôme de sa fille..., 1935

Sale Date: June 20, 2022

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Décalcomanie sur papier, 1936

André Breton

Décalcomanie sur papier, 1936

Sale Date: June 20, 2022

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Equipe fantôme

André Breton

Equipe fantôme

Sale Date: June 9, 2022

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Minuit juste, 1959

André Breton

Minuit juste, 1959

Sale Date: March 8, 2022

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Cabinet de curiosité

André Breton

Cabinet de curiosité

Sale Date: December 18, 2021

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El Surrealismo, su trayectoria sus..., 1938

André Breton

El Surrealismo, su trayectoria sus..., 1938

Sale Date: December 10, 2021

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Nadja

André Breton

Nadja

Sale Date: September 21, 2021

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Au Lavoir noir avec une fenêtre de Marcel Duchamp

Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp

Au Lavoir noir avec une fenêtre de Marcel Duchamp

Sale Date: September 21, 2021

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Nadja

André Breton

Nadja

Sale Date: September 21, 2021

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Mont de piété (1913-1919). Avec deux dessins , 1919

André Breton

Mont de piété (1913-1919). Avec deux dessins , 1919

Sale Date: June 18, 2021

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CADAVRE EXQUIS]. GALA, Valentine HUGO, André , 1930

Salvador Dali, Valentine Hugo, Andre Breton, and Gala Dali

CADAVRE EXQUIS]. GALA, Valentine HUGO, André , 1930

Sale Date: June 18, 2021

Auction Closed