Surrealism and Psychoanalysis in Grace Pailthorpe's Life and Work

This book outlines the life and intellectual thought of the English surrealist artist and psychoanalyst, Dr Grace Pailthorpe (1883–1971). It gathers her published and unpublished writings, providing an in-depth study of the importance of Surrealism in her work and legacy.

Pailthorpe’s theoretical understanding of the psyche informed her approach to art, setting her work apart from other Surrealist artists by unifying artistic, scientific, and therapeutic aims. Pailthorpe considered Surrealism to be a method of investigation into unconscious mental life and believed that it was essential that the repressed part of our minds should find expression. Her theories were influenced by personal and professional experiences such as her work with female offenders, her psychoanalytic training, and her research project with Reuben Mednikoff. By bringing her artistic and theoretical work to light, Montanaro and Stefana reassert Pailthorpe’s significance to the histories of both psychoanalysis and Surrealism, rendering the cross-disciplinary relevance of her work accessible to a contemporary audience.

This book is a rich resource for scholars and students interested in psychoanalysis and art history and provides an invaluable case study for the continuing significance of visual artistic practices to clinical work.