Which 1936 exhibition in London was the first International Surrealist Exhibition in Britain?

The International Surrealist Exhibition, held in London in 1936, was the first major international Surrealist exhibition in Britain.

It was organized at the New Burlington Galleries by Roland Penrose, Herbert Read and other supporters of the movement. The exhibition presented works by leading international artists, including Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Man Ray and René Magritte. It helped introduce Surrealism to a large British public.

The event became especially famous for Dalí’s theatrical appearance in a deep-sea-diving suit during a lecture. The stunt was intended to dramatize the idea of exploring the unconscious, although the helmet reportedly caused him breathing difficulties.

The show is sometimes confused with the 1936 exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. That was a separate exhibition, held in the United States, while the London event was explicitly international and Surrealist.