I'm confused -- are you arguing that these particular Ernst or di Chirico paintings (or the Donati sculpture) are indicative of gender stupidity or homophobia? I don't see it. The Surrealists were certainly a chauvinistic bunch, but you seem to be presenting these paintings as evidence of that, and I'm not persuaded they are. Magritte used lots of bare breasts in his paintings, but he's hardly unique in that.
Another great female Surrealist (not canonical, but affiliated): Remedios Varo. Gorgeous, gorgeous paintings.
The only way to rehabilitate Gauguin's image is to leave the Polynesian paintings out. Unfortunately, the Polynesian paintings the famous ones, so no one wants to do a big exhibition of his work without them. I don't think most people hate Gauguin, but if you've read enough about him, you grow to dislike him because he was a creepy old guy who left his wife and children in France to go have sex with 13 year old girls in warmer weather. I'd love to see someone do an exhibition of just his early work. His Brittany paintings, for example, are really great.
"I studied all about Gauguin. He was a banker. He was a banker who - he used to paint on Sundays. And one day he hated himself for painting on Sundays." - Anthony Quinn
I don't get it. Are you going to explain why those pieces are gender-stupid and homophobic? I am seriously confused as to how the lobster phone fits into either of those categories...
I need to see this show. It's refreshing to read your critical thoughts on surrealism, because I have made the effort and haven't found much substance there. My own work has been called "surrealist" so many times, but I can't relate to their tenets, aside from some of their dabbling in automatic writing and stream-of-consciousness. Gimme some Dada.
Another great female Surrealist (not canonical, but affiliated): Remedios Varo. Gorgeous, gorgeous paintings.
Still... curious to hear more...
A wonderful image.