During the International Surrealist Exhibition in July 1936, Ithell Colquhoun attended a lecture in London given by leading surrealist Salvador Dali (Ades 39). The lecture, called “Fantomes paranoiaques authentiques,” was given as Dali wore a deep-sea diving suit and held a billiard cue and the leash of a pair of wolfhounds (Auld). Dali’s speech and his eccentric attire—intended to represent a sort of “diving into the unconscious”—inspired numerous British surrealists in the audience, including Ithell Colquhoun (Auld). According to Colquhoun, “’It seemed that he did actually invoke phantasmic presences which generated a tense atmosphere,’” (Ades 39-40). Along with the generally introducing surrealism to the British, the International Surrealist Exhibition more specifically familiarized artists with the specific styles of leading surrealists like Dali. Surrealism, importantly, was more defined by a focus on the unconscious and dream-like subject matter than any particular style. Some artists—like Eileen Agar, pictured above—employed a distinctly non-representational style, while Dali and Magritte championed a style which depicted realistic people and objects in dream-like scenarios. It was this latter style that became especially dominant throughout the surrealist movement of the 30s, partially furthered by Dali’s prominence within the genre and this unforgettable speech (he nearly suffocated in the suit) at the birth of British surrealism (Ades 36).

Ades, Dawn. “Notes on Two Women Surrealist Painters: Eileen Agar and Ithell Colquhoun.” Oxford Art Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, 1980, pp. 36–42. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360177. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Auld, Sarah. “Globe trotter: The journey of an artwork.” Tate, 1 Sept. 2010, https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-20-autumn-2010/globe-trotter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Photograph of Salvador Dali in a diving suit at the International Surrealist Exhibition of 1936. “Dalí in a diving helmet: how the Spaniard almost suffocated bringing surrealism to Britain,” by Joanna Moorhead, 1 Jun. 2016. The Guardian.