Developed from dada and avant garde with the roots in theory of psychoanalysis surrealism soon spread from literature and visual arts to music photography and film to culture practices as well as to philosophy politic work and social theories worldwide. In new york breton and his colleagues curated surrealist exhibitions that introduced ideas of automatism and intuitive art making to the first abstract expressionists he worked in various creative media focusing on collage and printmaking as well as. 18 february 1896 28 september 1966 was a french writer and poet he is known best as the co founder leader principal theorist and chief apologist of surrealism.