Surreal Encounters: Collecting the Marvellous

The book accompanies an exhibition which will be held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh from 4 June to 11 September 2016. It is being organised in conjunction with the Hamburger Kunsthalle and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, and will be shown in Hamburg from 7 October 2016 to 22 January 2017 and in Rotterdam from 11 February to 28 May 2017.

Bringing together some of the world's finest surrealist artworks from four private collections, and featuring works rarely before seen in public, this book accompanies an exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh (June-September 2016), in Hamburg (October 2016-January 2017) and Rotterdam (February-May 2017),This book brings together over 160 of the finest surrealist artworks by legendary artists including Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Joan Miro and Man Ray. The works hail from the four renowned and extraordinary private collections of Edward James, Roland Penrose, Gabrielle Keiller and Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch, and together offer a superb overview of surrealist art. Ten essays explore the different origins, historical contexts and creative urges behind these collections. Artworks, perhaps more than anything else that one can acquire, are objects of desire and surrealist artworks even more so. The sheer quality of the works acquired (and, in the case of the Pietzsches, still being acquired) is astonishing and, while passionate about their private visions, all the collectors have been mindful of contributing something to the public good. The collections complement each other to an extraordinary degree and allow us to follow some of the artists' careers from beginning to end. By uniting them, exciting new juxtapositions emerge along with a fuller and richer picture of the surrealist movement as a whole. AUTHOR: Dawn Ades has curated numerous international exhibitions on Surrealism and Dada. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, a former trustee of Tate and was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her services to art history. Elizabeth Cowling is Honorary Fellow in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. She was the principal author of 'Surrealism and After: The Gabrielle Keiller Collection' (1997). Prof Dr Hubertus Gabner is Director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Annabelle Gorgen-Lammers is Exhibition Curator at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Keith Hartley is Chief Curator and Deputy Director at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. Saskia van Kampen-Prein is Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. SELLING POINTS: . This book brings together some of the world's finest surrealist artworks from four renowned and extraordinary private collections . Many of the works featured have rarely been seen in public . By bringing together works from these collections, the oeuvres of the artists are presented in a new light and some of their careers seen from beginning to end 200 colour images