Special Exhibition

Paul Éluard: Poetry, Politics, Love explores the world of the most celebrated and idealistic of all surrealist poets, Paul Éluard. Known as “the Poet of Freedom,” Éluard helped found Surrealism, the French art movement whose poetry celebrated dreams, love and freedom. The exhibition has three sections: one exploring his transition from surrealist poet to communist poet, one focused on his love poetry and the significant loves of his life, and a final section presenting several examples of his poetry from various periods of his career.

The exhibition presents Éluard as champion of the notion that love poetry was a gateway to the Marvelous. Éluard was the first husband of Gala (Helene Dmitrievna Diakanova), who would leave him for Salvador Dalí. Gala remained his muse even after their divorce. In the mid-1930s, he abandoned Surrealism to support of the French Communist Party. He became an active member of the French resistance during the Nazi occupation, and thousands of copies of his poem “Liberté” were parachuted from British aircraft over Occupied France to stir morale. The exhibition concludes with a selection of poems from various periods in Éluard’s career.

This exhibit is held in the Raymond James Community Room on the ground floor of the Museum. Access to the Museum’s ground floor is free and open to the public; online timed reservations are available by selecting ‘Ground Floor Only'. The Raymond James Community Room occasionally closes for private events, in which case the exhibit will not be accessible.