André Masson
France (1896—1987)After studying art in Brussels and Paris, Masson began painting before being called to the front during World War I, where he was severely wounded. After the war, André Breton recognised his work and brought him into the Surrealist circle. Masson embraced the principle of automatic writing, translating it into drawings and paintings that became one of the most distinctive features of his work. In 1934 he moved to Spain, but returned to France in 1936 following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. With the occupation of France during World War II, he left for the United States in 1941 and settled there. His use of automatism and his experimental approach influenced artists such as Pollock and contributed to the development of Abstract Expressionism.
