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This was one of eleven works by Stanley William Hayter that appeared in the International Exhibition of Surrealism held in London in 1936. Marking the official launch of the surrealist movement in Britain, this exhibition signaled a new era for surrealism, as artists from France, England, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and what was then Czechoslovakia exhibited their work together for the first time. The exhibition was a bold display of international solidarity and a poignant defiance of the nationalist sentiment sweeping through Europe. Hayter moved to Paris in 1926 to establish the renowned printmaking studio Atelier 17, which moved to the United States in 1940 and became a hub for European émigré artists and a young generation of abstract expressionists. His emphasis on free-form engagement with the medium, without preconceived ideas or planning, echoed the surrealist practice of "psychic automatism" and is hailed as a significant influence on the abstract artist Jackson Pollock.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2020