James Gleeson was Australia's best known and most important Surrealist. He had been painting and exhibiting consistently from the 1930s until 2008. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, not only as a painter and poet, but as a critic, writer and curator. Gleeson combined skillful draughtsmanship with a great facility in handling paint. Delving into the subconscious, Gleeson used literary, mythological or religious subject matter to allow the viewer glimpses of extraordinary beauty. Regardless of their scale, the resulting paintings convey a sumptuous monumentality.

Gleeson is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries, most regional galleries, university collections, Artbank, and many corporate and private collections.