What is the difference between Surrealism and Abstract art?

While both movements challenged traditional representation, Surrealism and Abstract art have fundamentally different goals. Abstract art eliminates recognizable imagery to focus on formal elements (color, shape, line) as subjects in themselves. Surrealism, by contrast, often depicts recognizable objects but combines them in impossible or dreamlike ways to access the unconscious mind. Dali and Magritte painted with realistic precision but depicted irrational content. However, Abstract Surrealism bridges both approaches, using non-representational forms derived from automatism to suggest unconscious content without literal imagery. Understanding this distinction helps appreciate the range of approaches within Surrealist practice.