Paul Eluard was at the forefront of surrealism in the 1920s. His poetry aimed to promote the truth to readers and to change the whole way that language was used; more ambitiously his hope was that he could affect the way people lived their lives. He saw love as the major driver for revolution in society and invariably used the women in his poetry as the agent for good.
In total, Eluard published around seventy books, which included not just poetry but also more literary efforts and political tracts. Despite his initial commitment to the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924, his work shifted focus and he was to eventually reject the movement altogether focussing instead on his political messages. His surrealist work had tended to focus on ephemeral subjects, but later in his career he became more concerned with the practicalities of life.
During the Nazi occupation of France he fought with the Communist Resistance and he wrote his famous poem, Liberte, which was an ode to freedom. Eluard's desire to see his work used as an agent for change was dramatically realized as the poem was embraced by the nation. British forces dropped thousands of copies over the occupied country to boost morale.
Eluard collaborated with other famous writers and artists throughout his career, perhaps most notably on a number of illustrated works with Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro. Given that these works bring together such famous names, they are attractive at auction, with a posthumous edition of A toute epreuvefetching more the $40,000. Other works such as Solidaritehave realized over $25,000.
Given Eluard's prominent role in the surrealist movement it is not surprising that he interests collectors. But while his collaborations (with possibly more familiar names) attract significant bids, his less famous, stand alone works are certainly more accessible to those wanting to own work from the golden age of surrealism.
Eluard, Paul. Les Animaux et leurs hommes. Au Sans Pareil (1920). Les Hommes Et Leurs Animaux; Avec Cinq Dessins D?Andre Lhote; Total 575 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Proverbe. Paris (1920). Edited By Poet Paul Eluard;
Eluard, Paul. Les Necessites de la Vie et Les Consequences des Reves. Au Sans Pareil (1921). Precede D'Exemples. Note De Jean Paulhan; Total 635 Copies; 35 Exemplaires Sur Divers Papiers.
Eluard, Paul. Mourir de ne pas mourir. Nouvelle Revue Francaise (1924). 535 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. 152 Proverbes mis au gout du jour. La revolution surrealiste (1925). Benjamin Peret.
Eluard, Paul. Capitale de la Douluer. Gallimard (1926).
Eluard, Paul. Les Dessous dune vie, ou La Pyramide humaine. Les cahiers du Sud, Marseille (1926). 522 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Permettez !. Paris (1927). Andre Breton Yves Tanguy, Benjamin Peret, Et Al.
Eluard, Paul. Defense de savoir. Editions Surrealistes (1928). 90 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. L'Immaculee Conception. Editions Surrealistes (1930). Breton (Andre); One Original Etching By Salvador Dali As Frontispiece; 2111 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. La vie immediate. Editions des Cahiers Libres (1932). 1000 Copies,
Eluard, Paul. Comme Deux Gouttes dEau. Editions Surrealistes (1933). 780 Exemplaires Ordinaires, Apres 175 Luxe Numerotes Sur Papier Vert
Eluard, Paul. Les Yeux Fertiles. G.L.M. (1936). Avec Un Portrait Et Quatre; Total 1500 Copies; 1240 Copies On Alfa Teinte; 4 B/W Illustrations By Pablo Picasso.
Eluard, Paul. Notes sur la Poesie. GLM (1936). Avec Un Dessin De Salvador Dali; 115 Exemplaires Numerotes; 15 Ex Numerotes Sur Japon, Tirage De Tete.
Eluard, Paul. Thorns of Thunder. Europa Press (1936). Selected Poems Edited By George Reavey; Translated From The French By Samuel Beckett, Denis Devlin, David Gascoyne, Eugene Jolas, Man Ray, George Reavey And Ruthven Todd; Frontispiece By Pablo Picasso; 600 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Les mains libres. Jeanne Bucher (1937). Dessins Illustres Par Les Poemes De Paul Eluard; 67 Full-Page Drawings By Man Ray; Total 675 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Quelques-uns des mots qui jusquici metaient mysterieusement interdits. GLM (1937). Total 346 Copies; 270 Exemplaires Sur Velin Teinte.
Eluard, Paul. Cahier G.L.M. Editions G . L. M. (1938). Septieme Cahier, Mars 1938; Illustrations De G. De Chirico, Yves Tanguy , Andre Masson , Remedios , Max Ernst , Jacqueline Breton , Rene Magritte , Man Ray , W.Paalen , Salvador Dali , Oscar Dominguez , Maurice Henry , Marcel Jean .
Eluard, Paul. Cours naturel. Editions du Sagittaire (1938). 750 Exemplaires (Seul Tirage Apres 5 Chine Et 10 Hollande)
Eluard, Paul. Dictionnaire abrege du Surrealisme. Galerie Beaux-Arts (1938). Black And Red With Illustration By Yves Tanguy; Contains Contributions By L. Aragon, H. Arp, A. Artaud, H. Bellmer, A. Breton, R. Crevel, S. Dali, R. Desnos, M. Duchamp, P. Eluard, M. Ernst, G. Hugnet, Man Ray, E.L.T. Mesens, V. Nezval, W. Paalen, B. Peret, P. Picasso, J. Prevert And T. Tzara
Eluard, Paul. Chanson complete. Gallimard (1939). Edition Originale Sur Papier Courant, Il Na Ete Tire Que 5 Japon Et 15 Arches En Grands Papiers
Eluard, Paul. Donner a voir. Gallimard (coll.Blanche) (1939). 55 Exemplaires Sur Alfa Mousse (Seul Grand Papier Apres 28 Exemplaires De Tete Sur Velin Pur Fil)
Eluard, Paul. Le livre ouvert. Editions Cahiers d Art (1940). 250 Exemplaires Pour Le Premier Volume (Apres 20 Sur Arches Et 2 Sur Montval) Et 500 Exemplaires Pour Le Second (Apres 30 Sur Arches Et 2 Sur Montval).
Eluard, Paul. Moralite du sommeil. L'Aiguille aimantee, Anvers (1941).
Eluard, Paul. Le livre ouvert. Cahiers d'Art (1942). 250 Puis 500 Exemplaires Sur Helio, Apres 2 Montval Et 20 Puis 30 Arches
Eluard, Paul. Poesie Involontaire et Poesie Intentionnelle. Villeneuve-les-Avignon, Poesie (1942). 1,878 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Misfortunes of the immortals. Black Sun Press (1943). 610 Copies; This New Version Is Augmented ByThree Drawings Twenty Years Later By Ernst; Translated By Hugh Chisholm.
Eluard, Paul. A Pablo Picasso. Trois Collines, Paris (1944). Les Grands Peintres Par Leurs Amis; Reproductions Photographiques D'Oeuvres De Pablo Picasso
Eluard, Paul. Au rendez-vous allemand. Aux Editions de Minuit (1944). Illustrated With A Frontispiece By Pablo Picasso;120 Exemplaires De Tete Numerotes (78) Sur Pur Fil, Dont Les Seuls 20 Premiers Comportaient Une Eau-Forte Originale, Reproduite En Cliche Au Trait Dans Les 100 Suivants
Eluard, Paul. Le Lit La Table. Editions des Trois Collines (1944). 3000 Copies OnPapier Verge Bouffant Creme
Eluard, Paul. POESIE ET VERITE. Gallery Editions (1944). Translated By Roland Penrose and E.L.T. Mesens; Illustrated With Frontispiece Portrait Of Paul Eluard By Man Ray; 500 Numbered Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Au rendez-vous allemand. Les Editions de minuit (1945). Suivi De Poesie Et Verite 1942; Ouvrage Illustre, En Frontispice, Dun Portrait De Lauteur Par Pablo Picasso.
Eluard, Paul. Doubles dombre. Gallimard (1945). Poemes Et Dessins De Paul Eluard Et Andre Beaudin 1913-1943; 960 Exemplaires Sur Helio Mat Superieur; Illustre De Nombreux Dessins En Noir D'Andre Beaudin.
Eluard, Paul. En avril 1944. Galerie Charpentier (1945). Paris Respirait Encore : Poeme Illustrant Sept Gouaches De Jean Hugo; 7 Gouaches Couleurs De Jean Hugo; 948 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Jours de gloire. Lambusier (1945). Valery, Paul, Colette, Billy, Andre, Arnoux, Alexandre, Aveline, Claude, Bernard J. J.; Histoire De La Liberation De Paris. Preface Du General Koenig. Gravures Et Dessins Par Daragnes, Dignimont, Picasso Et Touchagues; Total 1070 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Les malheurs des immortels.. Editions de la Revue Fontaine (1945). Illustre De 21 Collages De Max Erns; Text By Paul Eluard; 500 Copies On Pink Paper; Total 1860 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. LINGERIES LEGERES. Pierre Seghers (1945). Toatl 685 Copies; 650 Exemplaires Sur Papier Velin Du Marais
Eluard, Paul. Le lit la table. Trois Collines, Geneve (1946). Dessins De Gerard Vulliamy; 11 Tavole A Piena Pagina Ed Una Al Frontespizio, Riprodotte Al Tratto.
Eluard, Paul. Sainte Catherine. Palais De Chaillot (1946). Aragon, Louis; 1150 Copies; 200 Copies OnVelin Du Marais, With An Original Lithograph By Matisse, Signed And Numbered In Pencil, And 4 Lithographs By M. Laurencin, C. Berard, H. Matisse Et Picasso.
Eluard, Paul. Dignes de vivre. Les Editeurs des Portres de France, Porrentruy (1947). 1200 Exemplaires Numerotes; Illustre De 20 Bois Originaux De Theo Kerg.
Eluard, Paul. Le meilleur choix de poemes est celui que lon fait pour soi. Le Sagittaire (1947). 110 Exemplaires Sur Alfa Navarre
Eluard, Paul. Le temps deborde. Editions Cahiers dArt (1947). 500 Exemplaires; Frontispiece En Offset Et 10 Heliogravures In Et Hors Texte De Dora Maar Et Man Ray
Eluard, Paul. Objet Des Mots et Des Images. Opera (1947). 17 Poemes De Paul Eluard Illustres De Lithographies En Couleurs Par Engel-Pak; 300 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. A L interieur de la vue. Seghers (1948). 8 Poemes Visibles; 610 Exemplaires
Eluard, Paul. Jacques Villon ou l'Art glorieux. Louis Carre (1948). 1800 Copies; Seven Color Plates Including Frontispiece, Several B/W Illustrations; Poem By Eluard,De La Lumiere Et Du Pain; Essay By Rene-Jean
Eluard, Paul. Le Bestiaire. Maeght (1948). Edition Illustree Par Roger Chastel De 87 Eaux-Fortes Originals; 196 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Picasso a Antibes. Rene Drouin (1948). Text By Paul Eluard, Photographs By Michel Sima, And An Introduction By Jaime Sabartes.
Eluard, Paul. Poemes politiques. Gallimard (1948).
Eluard, Paul. Voir Poemes, Peintures, Dessins. Editions des Collines, Geneve-Paris (1948). 3000 Copies; 32 Tipped-In Colour Plates; 32 Black-And-White Illustrations; Stiff Wrappers Designed By Raoul Ubac.
Eluard, Paul. Le Dur Desir de Durer. Gray Falcon Press and Trianon Press (1950). Illustrated By Marc Chagall (Color Lithograph As Frontispiece, Other Black And White Illustrations Through The Text (9 Full Page); Followed By An English Translation By Stephen Spender And Frances Cornford; Total 1500 Copies (750 Published By Trianon In The Uk, 750 By Gray Falcon In The Us).
Eluard, Paul. Le Visage de la Paix. Cercle Dart (1951). 150 Copies On Velin Pur Fil De Johannot With 29 Illustrations By Picasso; Total 2250 Copies
Eluard, Paul. LE PHENIX. GLM (1952). Avec Dix-Huit Dessins De Valentine Hugo; Originale Illustree De 18 Dessins A Pleine Page De Valentine Hugo; First Edition 1200 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Les sentiers et les routes de la poesie. Armand Henneuse (1952). 700 Exemplaires Sur Alfa De Valdor (Seul Tirage Apres 15 Exemplaires De Tete Sur Chiffon D'Auvergne).
Eluard, Paul. Picasso Dessins. Les Editions Braun and Cie (1952). 16 Etchings With Cover Etching By Pablo Picasso.
Eluard, Paul. Poesie ininterrompue II. Editions Gallimard (1953). 2 Volumes; 145 Exemplaires.
Eluard, Paul. Un poeme dans chaque livre. L.Broder (1956). 100 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Corps memorables. P. Seghers (1960). 12 Photographs By Lucien Cherque; Dust Wrapper Design By Pablo Picasso; First 16 Pages Are Loosely Inserted
Eluard, Paul. les malheurs des immortels. Verlag Galerie Der Spiegel, Koln (1960). Collages Von Max Ernst Und Texten Von Max Ernst Und Paul Eluard; 335 Exemplare; 85 Handschriftlich Nummerierten; 21 Full-Page Reproductions Of Collages By Ernst.
Eluard, Paul. Le poete et son ombre. Seghers (1963). Textes Inedits Presentes Et Annotes Par Robert D. Valett; 150 Exemplaires; 75 Exemplaires Sur Papier Verge De Hollande Du Tirage De Tete; Exemplaire De Valentine Hugo.
Eluard, Paul. Corps memorable. Seghers (1965). With 12 Erotic Photos Of Nude Females (2 Double-Page) By Lucien Clergue
Eluard, Paul. Album Eluard. Gallimard (1968). Iconographie Reunie Et Commentee Par Roger-Jean Segalat 467 Illustrations (7E Album De La Pleiade)
Eluard, Paul. MIRO. FONDATION MAEGHT, SAINT PAUL (1968). Dupin, Jacques - Breton, Andre - Char, Rene - Leiris, Michel - Prevert, Jacques - Quenau, Raymond - Tzara, Tristan; Exhibition Catalogue Containing 3 Original Color Lithographs (Covers, One Single And One Double Plates).
Eluard, Paul. Corps memorable. Seghers (1969). Illustre Dun Dessin De Picasso En Frontispice, Et De 18 Photos De Clergue
Eluard, Paul. Poemes. Les Bibliophiles du Palais (1970). Total 200 Copies; The Complete Book With Poems By Paul Eluard (In French) And 10 Original Hors-Texte Etchings In Tones Of Black By Paul Delvaux, Engraved By Maccard; 180 Copies On Grand Velin De Rives.
Eluard, Paul. Couplets. Editions Commune Mesure (1974). 20 Ex Numerotes Sur Auvergne, Tirage De Tete
Eluard, Paul. A Toute Epreuve. Braziller (1984). Gravures Sur Bois De Joan Miro; Wood Engravings By Miro In Color; Introduction By Anne Hyde Greet; 130 Copies.
Eluard, Paul. Das Kamasutra der Surrealisten. Klaus G. Renner, Ottiglio und Zurich (2003). Andre Breton - Alissa Walser (Illust); Zwei Heliogravuren Von Alissa Walser; 110 Copies