# The Surrealist group stages a 1934 ‘trial’ of Dalí and later expels him as a public schism Date: 1934 ## The fact In February 1934 the Surrealist group publicly tried [Dalí](/people/salvador-dali) for political and commercial heresy, a schism completed in the late-1930s expulsion. It is one event. ## Context A schism can clarify ethics and can become a brand. Split Persistence as a MoMA object. Salvador Dalí’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below. Sharing a field with them is not a reason to drop a documented act, and it is not a reason to assign later consequences done in the name after death. On 11 February 1934 [Breton](/people/thierry-breton)’s circle convened a ‘trial’ over Dalí’s political ambiguities and commercial appetite; the 1939 break completed the public expulsion. Breton wrote; Dalí performed the scandal. Polarisation of an avant-garde into orthodox and heretic is the stored path. Named person as heading of the dated public instrument. Later editors, museums, printers, or offices share publication. Complex where later carriers date the row. ## Evidence and sources Fundació chronology and Britannica independently describe the Surrealist trial and later expulsion. Official or archival record: Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí (https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/; Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí). ## Significance An avant-garde heresy trial polarised a public art movement into factions. A trial is not the 1929 film. An avant-garde heresy trial polarised a public art movement into factions. ## What is established and what is not Established: 1934 Surrealist trial and later expulsion in the public file. Not established: that he held a party card as the cause. What would change the picture: a contradictory original with a different date or name, or a measured series that can be argued, with lag and alternatives, as a consequence of this instrument rather than of later institutions. The date is the date of this instrument, not a licence to back-date every later harm or benefit. Established here: a sourced, dated public instrument with a named contribution by Salvador Dalí. What would change the picture: a contradictory original with a different date, signatory, or non-occurrence; a demonstrated forgery; or a measured series that can be argued, with lag and alternatives, as a consequence of this instrument rather than of other causes. They are not a public rating. ## People - Salvador Dalí: https://factrail.ai/people/salvador-dali ## Drivers - Political Polarization: https://factrail.ai/drivers/political-polarization ## Sources - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Salvador-Dali - https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/ ## Methodology https://factrail.ai/methodology Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/dal-expulsion-1934