A collection of ten lithographs by Spanish painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) has been found in a London garage, where they had lain forgotten for half a century, and will now be put up for sale on September 30 by the Hansons auction house in Richmond.
The discovery, which also includes five lithographs by French painter, illustrator and sculptor Theo Tobiasse, came during a routine visit to assess artworks at a house in Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
Antiques expert Chris Kirkham, associate director of London gallery Hansons Richmond, called the find “an impressive one”, according to a statement on the auction house’s website.
The lithographs cost £500 when purchased in the late 1970s and could now fetch around £5,000 when auctioned.
A “rather surreal” find
“I think the fact that they’ve been dormant for so long has allowed the colours to be fresh, and having Dalí’s signature on them gives people a wonderful opportunity to have something that the great man touched,” Kirkham said. “They’d been hidden and forgotten for about 50 years. It was quite surreal. “You never know what you’re going to find on a routine visit to a house,” he added in the statement.
Kirkham revealed that the buyer of the works intended to frame them to hang in his home, but never did, “and they ended up in his garage.” “They were rediscovered because the seller was cleaning out. He was planning to retire and move abroad, so these lithographs will finally see the light of day on the day of the auction,” he said.
