ABSTRACT
The idea for the exhibition, which sent shock-waves through the insular English art world, came from a group of enthusiasts brought together in London by the poet David Gascoyne and the painter-collector Roland Penrose, who had become close to the Surrealists during an extended stay in Paris. A committee including Henry Moore, Paul Nash and Herbert Read was set up to organize the show in England, with help and advice from Andre Breton, Paul Eluard and Man Ray across the Channel. A fairly large English contingent also exhibited works, with Moore and Nash well to the fore. Roland Penrose himself exhibited four paintings and two constructions. In the early stages of setting up the exhibition, Penrose and Read had visited Francis Bacon in his studio on the Royal Hospital Road and looked at his most recent work, which they judged 'insufficiently surreal to be included in the show'.
