Andre Breton

André Breton (February 19, 1896 – September 28, 1966) was a French writer, poet, and surrealist theorist, and is best known as the principal founder of Surrealism. His writings include the Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism". Breton was an avid collector of art, ethnographic material, and unusual trinkets. Under Breton's direction, Surrealism became a European movement that influenced all domains of art