How much is that painting in the window? It was marked $180, which many would say is relatively high for an estate sale purchase ... until one realizes the painting in question was a Salvadore Dali.
Dali, for the uninitiated, is the master surrealist whose work "Portrait De Paul Eluard" was the highest ever auctioned at Sotheby's, for $21.7 million.
The one discovered by antiquities dealer John Russel at a British estate sale isn't on that level, but it is being auctioned for a price estimated at $25,000 to $37,000. Russel told The Guardian that he encountered the painting at a sale to clear out the effects of a London apartment.
"Most of the time, I buy stuff that I like," he said. "On this occasion, I was really taking a bit of a punt, because I wasn't sure I'd have it on the wall, to be honest … I do like some unusual art, but you'd have to love it, wouldn't you?"
What he purchased turned out to be Vecchio Sultano, or Old Sultan, a mixed-media artwork from 1966. Dali was commissioned by an Italian couple to do the work for a publishing house that wanted 500 illustrations inspired by The Arabian Nights.
Russel looked up the art he'd bought in an art catalog and discovered that it had previously verified as legitimate. SEE IT HERE.
Cheffins, the house auctioning the illustration, wrote this about it: "This (is) a significant rediscovery for Dali scholars. To handle a genuine rediscovery of a work by who is easily one of the most famous artists in the world, and the godfather of Surrealism, is a real honour. It has been an exciting process researching and having this painting authenticated and it is a testament to the sellers' significant art knowledge that he was able to spot this picture at a house clearance sale. While Dali's work is often some of the most recognisable, this is an unusual piece which shows a different side to his practice when working in watercolour."
