Cambridge Dali painting bought for £150 could fetch £30K
The art dealer who purchased the piece discovered it had previously been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s, fully attributed to Dali.Ms Downie said: "The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this a significant rediscovery for Dali scholars."She said: "It has been an exciting process researching and having this painting authenticated and it is a testament to the seller's 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."
The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, was discovered in a Cambridge house clearance sale in 2023.The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto.Ms Downie said the couple intended to commission Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon the artist's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights - a collection of Middle Eastern folktales.It is thought Dali only completed 100 of the intended 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," said Ms Downie."It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers."It has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and has a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000.The painting will be offered for sale by Cheffins on 23 October.
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