Erin Regan

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Art Business

First Advisor

Morgan Falconer

Second Advisor

Betsy Thomas

Abstract

This thesis examines the role and legacy of female artists who took part in the Surrealist visual art movement of the early 20th century. Canonical accounts have historically privileged the contributions of male artists, marginalizing women to the fringes of the movement by framing female artists as being primarily relevant as muses for their male peers. This study contests this historiographical misconception, relying upon visual analysis and archival research, as well as drawing from psychological, feminist, and postmodern theory, ultimately arguing that their artistic and theoretical innovations fundamentally restructured Surrealism’s visual vocabulary, theoretical objectives, and cultural legacy. This thesis is comprised of three chapters that develop successively. The first chapter critiques the muse paradigm through examining its manifestation in work produced by male artists, as well as its historiographical depiction in foundational Surrealist texts by André Breton and Maurice Nadeau. The next chapter reevaluates the contributions of female Surrealists including Leonora Carrington, Lee Miller, and Meret Oppenheim, and references seminal feminist redresses of the movement’s history, particularly engaging with critiques written by Katharine Conley and Whitney Chadwick. Finally, the culminating chapter explores Surrealist work by Claude Cahun, Leonore Fini, and Remedios Varo in the context of postmodern theory, especially that of Hélène Cixous, asserting their transformative impact on the Surrealist movement, and enduring cultural legacy.

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