Surrealism at Atelier 17

The print workshop Atelier 17—based in Paris and, later, New York City—dramatically expanded the possibilities of printmaking. Opened by British artist Stanley William Hayter in 1927, Atelier 17 specialized in intaglio techniques—especially etching and engraving, both of which involved incising a printing plate—using these traditional processes as a starting point from which to develop new and revolutionary methods.

Beyond printmaking techniques, Atelier 17 was also instrumental in the development of Surrealism, an influential art movement that began in Paris during the early 1920s and examined dreams and the unconscious. Important Surrealists, such as Max Ernst and André Masson, explored these new ideas through printmaking at Atelier 17’s Paris location. When the studio relocated to New York in 1940, at the onset of World War II, its artists did the same and brought their innovative style with them.

In New York, these European artists worked alongside both emerging and established American printmakers, such as Dorothy Dehner and Armin Landeck. The nonhierarchical and collaborative atmosphere that Hayter promoted allowed Surrealism to flourish, and the shop became known for its opportunities—including for women, for whom printmaking had typically been regarded as too physically demanding.

This exhibition features about 50 prints created by artists who explored Surrealism at Atelier 17. It is organized to commemorate the workshop’s centennial in conjunction with the Atelier 17 Project (opens in a new tab), a nonprofit organization focused on this notable anniversary. It also highlights a Cleveland-specific connection: Salvador Dalí’s 1947 etching Saint George and the Dragon—for which the museum holds a related drawing and the original printing plate—was commissioned by the Print Club of Cleveland and made in collaboration with Hayter. Together, the works on view reveal the central role that Atelier 17, and printmaking more broadly, played in Surrealism’s international exchange.