For 50 years, 10 signed lithographs by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí were gathering dust at a basement in the United Kingdom. The rare artwork could soon find another home with an auction set for Sept. 30 at Hansons Richmond.
Antiques expert Chris Kirkham also found five lithographs by French artist Theo Tobiasse at the same client’s garage in the Berkeley Square business district in London.
“They’d been tucked away and forgotten about for around 50 years. It felt quite surreal,” Kirkham, associate director of London’s Hansons Richmond auction house, said in a press release Tuesday. “You never know what you’re going to uncover on a routine home visit.”
Back in the 1970s, the buyer snapped up the treasures in a closing-down sale at a central London gallery, paying only 500 British pounds (about C$888) for all the unframed lithographs, according to the press release.
The buyer, who was not named, had hoped to frame them in his home in Berkeley Square but the prints ended up in his garage instead.
“They were rediscovered because the seller has been having a clear out,” Kirkham said. “He’s looking to retire and move abroad, so now his lithographs will finally see the light of day at auction.”
The Dali works will sell from 300 British pounds (C$533.10) to 500 British pounds ($888.50) each, and the Tobiasse works from 100 British pounds (C$177.70) to 300 British pounds (C$533.18) each. The entire collection could rake in 5,000 British pounds (C$8,885.38).
Click here to see photos of the works.