Situated across the road form the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The Dean Gallery houses the Gallery of Modern Art's extensive collection of Dada and Surrealism. In 1994, Edinburgh-born sculptor Sir Eduardo Paolozzi offereda large body of his work to the National Galleries of Scotland. This collection of prints, drawings, plaster maquettes, moulds and the contents ofhis studio isnowhoused inthe Dean Gallery.

The gallery also accommodates a remarkable library and archive of artists' books, catalogues and manuscripts relating in particular to the Dada and Surrealist movement, but also to 20th century art as a whole.