Lucky find: Dalí painting purchased for just $190 now worth thousands

An antique dealer discovered a lost Salvador Dalí painting for £150 (around $190 USD), now worth up to £30,000 ($38,000 USD), with expert confirmation. The piece heads to auction this fall with a record estimate.

An English antiques dealer, who goes by the name John Russell, experienced the kind of lucky break every collector dreams of: purchasing a genuine Salvador Dalí painting at a domestic clearance auction for the modest sum of £150 (around $190 USD). The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, is now valued at up to £30,000 ($38,000 USD).

An unfinished project and a forgotten work

The painting, created in 1966, was part of an ambitious commission for 500 illustrations inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. However, Dalí abandoned the project after completing just 100 illustrations. Of these, half were lost, while the other half was kept by Italian friends and patrons of the artist, Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto, until the works were posthumously published in 2014.

A lucky (and somewhat accidental) discovery

The painting was found in a London garage and sold at a small, in-person auction. Russell, who was familiar with such sales, immediately recognized Dalí’s signature and noticed labels on the back suggesting the artwork had previously passed through the prestigious Sotheby’s auction house. This clue led him to bid on the piece, though he wasn’t entirely sure of its true value at the time.

Official certification

The painting’s authenticity was confirmed after consultation with Nicolas Descharnes, a leading expert on Dalí’s works. Descharnes validated the piece, confirming that the style, colors, and dimensions were consistent with other pieces from the same series. Although Vecchio Sultano doesn’t fit into Dalí’s classic surrealist style, Descharnes stated that it aligns perfectly with other works from the series in terms of technique, subject matter, and materials.

Heading to auction with a record estimate

The piece, which was created with watercolor and marker on paper, will be sold by the Cheffins auction house in Cambridge this coming October, with an estimated value between $25,000 USD and $37,000 USD (between £20,000 and £29,000). It marks a dramatic return for a work once thought to be lost, proving that sometimes, fortune favors those who can spot a gem at auction.

Source: Cheffins