By 1924, the Dadaist movement had completely deteriorated. Many artists decided to turn their attention to the Surrealist movement. Initially, the movement had close ties with Dada art and literary circles. However, the movement quickly became popular with others.

Something seemed to attract students and other artists to this movement. Surrealism did have a more stable environment. Unlike the Dada movement, Surrealism had an organized sense of direction set by Andre Brenton's Surrealist manifesto published shortly after the movement began. When 1925 rolled around, even more would join. In 1925, the Surrealists had opened up their first art exhibition to the public. Although the exhibition was quite small, the showing was enough to attract many more new members.

Surrealism took place in mainly two countries, France and the United States. During the 1920's and into the early 1930's, Paris acted as the major gathering grounds for the Surrealists. However, during World War II when Germany occupied France, many Surrealist activities resided in the United States. In the United States, the Surrealists acquired a large group of interested artists that regularly came together and conversed in local New York cafes and restaurants.