Tim Burton, 51, the director of well-known movies such as Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the much-anticipated Alice in Wonderland, set for release in March 2010, spoke briefly today about his art work being exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The exhibition, which honors Burton's 27-year career, will likely be a dream come true for his admirers. The display consists of a very personal and private collection of the director's art, covering a period which extends from the director's youth to recent years. Many of the works are linked to his movies but have never been seen by the public.

Most of the pieces are drawings, including sketches of the main characters of his films such as Edward Scissorhands, Bettlejuice and Batman's Joker. Paintings, sculptures, film props, and previously unreleased footage are also on display at the museum's galleries.

Burton told reporters at a press conference at MOMA today that the exhibition is one of the great surreal things that has happened to him.

It's truly an honor and it has been really a special thing for me, Burton noted.

He also thanked the committee at the museum for helping to locate pieces which he thought were impossible to find.

You guys actually helped me more than you know, he added.

The idea for the exhibition originated with Ron Magliozzi, an assistant curator of the museum's department of film, who watched a screening of Burton's film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005 and thought his work needed to be displayed.

The Tim Burton Exhibition sponsored by NBC Universal's Syfy network, kicks off this November 22 and will run through April 26, 2010. It is expected to go on tour to the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne, Australia, and the Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Ca., according to Jenny Ha, curatorial assistant of MOMA's department of film.