The French/European story of Surrealism has been written; the story of abstract expressionism has been told. But the connection between them, how one acted as a catalyst for the other, has been a long-missing chapter in the history of art. Martica Sawin finally provides it.

In this fascinating, detailed account of what was happening within Surrealism during the crucial years 1938-1947, Sawin documents the cultural transfer that took place when the greater part of the prewar Surrealist group was transplanted to the Western Hemisphere. Sawin's year-by-year narrative pieces together when and how the refugees arrived and their various points of contact with the future abstract expressionists.

It documents conclusively the roots of the New York School - a hybrid of startling vigor that brought world attention to the new American art for the first time - the evolution of the artworks involved, and the last brilliant flowering of Surrealist art. Interwoven with the text are 250 photographs of people, places, and artworks.