Surrealism is one of the most influential and popular art forms of the last century. It has shaped painting, literature, film, photography, music, theatre, architecture, fashion and design, as well as thinking about politics and culture. The Encyclopedia presents the first comprehensive and systematic overview of surrealism internationally, from its beginnings to the present day.

Volume 1 includes overviews of national surrealist movements, surrealism's influence across the visual, applied and performing arts, and analyses of the concepts which underpin surrealism. Volumes 2 and 3 present an A-Z of both the significant and the lesser-known individuals - theorists, critics, novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, designers, painters, collagists, object makers, sculptors, film makers, and photographers - who have made and continue to make surrealism. The volume concludes with a detailed overview of contemporary surrealist practice.