The Surrealist Book at MoMA: The Zell Collection of Artists' Books Goes on View for the First Time
The Museum of Modern Art, at 11 West 53rd Street in New York City, New York County, New York, is presenting The Surrealist Book: Tomorrow Lives in Mirrors, on view from October 4, 2026, through January 23, 2027, on the museum's third floor.
The exhibition features rare artists' books by leading figures of Surrealism, including André Breton, Claude Cahun, Salvador Dalí, Paul Éluard, Max Ernst, Toyen, and Unica Zürn. On view are a book bound with shards of shattered glass, a manifesto enshrined in polished metal, and love poems merged with solarized photographs.
The exhibition presents, for the first time at MoMA, the gift of artists' books from Helen and Sam Zell, which came to the museum in 2022. According to MoMA's June 1, 2026, exhibition announcement, the Zell Collection comprises approximately 100 works spanning the period from 1857 to 2014, including special editions on unusual papers, unique maquettes and sketchbooks, and sculptural bindings that turn books into hybrid, interactive artworks.
The exhibition is organized by Jodi Hauptman, The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints, and Starr Figura, Senior Curator, with Kolleen Ku, Curatorial Assistant, and Emma Kang, Brooke Alexander Fellow, Department of Drawings and Prints. Visitor and ticket information is available on MoMA's website.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 现代艺术博物馆（MoMA）馆舍（资料图）。Ajay Suresh 摄，CC BY，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) building (file photo). Photo by Ajay Suresh, CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons.
