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A painting by the renowned Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dali, discovered during a house clearance, is poised to fetch up to £30,000 at auction, a remarkable return on its initial £150 purchase price.
The artwork was located in a Cambridge residence and has since undergone authentication, confirming its status as an original Dali piece.
An anonymous art dealer acquired the mixed media work, which is scheduled to be offered for sale at auction in October.
Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins auctioneers, commented: “It is a genuine honour to handle the rediscovery of a work by one of the world’s most celebrated artists, the father of Surrealism.”
The art dealer who purchased the piece discovered that it had previously been offered for sale at Sotheby’s in the 1990s, where it was fully attributed to Dali.
“The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this a significant rediscovery for Dali scholars,” Ms. Downie stated.
“The process of researching and authenticating this painting has been incredibly exciting, and it is a testament to the seller’s extensive art knowledge that they were able to identify this piece at a house clearance sale.”
“While Dali’s work is often highly recognizable, this particular piece is an unusual example that reveals a different aspect of his artistic practice when working in watercolour.”
The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, was found during a Cambridge house clearance sale in 2023.
The image, created with watercolour paint and felt tip, is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, part of a series of 500 pieces Dali intended to create, commissioned by the wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto.
Ms. Downie explained that the couple initially intended to commission Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but at the artist’s insistence, he instead illustrated scenes from 1,001 Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales.
It is believed that Dali only completed 100 of the planned 500 works before the project was abandoned.
“Of these 100, half remained with the publishing house Rizzoli and were either damaged or lost. The other 50 stayed with the Albarettos and were later inherited by their daughter, Christina, who was also Dali’s goddaughter,” Ms. Downie noted.
“It is most probable that the work in question originated from the batch of 50 which were retained and subsequently lost by the publishers.”
The artwork has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and carries a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000.
The painting will be offered for sale by Cheffins on October 23.
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