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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Salvador Dali painting is set to sell for £30,000 after being snapped up for £150 at a house clearance in Cambridge
A painting by famous Spanish artist Salvador Dali is set to sell for £30,000 after being snapped up at a house clearance sale in Cambridge for £150. The surrealist piece was purchased by an anonymous art dealer who discovered the artwork titled Vecchio Sultano at the sale in 2023. After the mixed media painting was authenticated as an original it was given a pre-estimate sale of £20,000 to £30,000. It had been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s. The painting will be offered for sale by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins on October 23. Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins, said: 'The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this 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.' The artwork has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes. The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip, measures 38cm by 29cm. It is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, which was commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. Ms Downie said: 'The Albarettos who commissioned this work had initially asked Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon Dali's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights - a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. 'It seems Dali was fascinated with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line. 'It seems that this project was abandoned, with Dali only having completed 100 of the intended 500 works. '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. 'It is the 50 that were retained by the family that were published in 2016 by the Folio Society. 'I think, given that Dali engineered the commission to suit his whims, that he very much enjoyed this project and the subject matter. 'It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers.'
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Salvador Dali painting bought at house clearance sale identified as original
The art dealer who purchased the mixed media piece, who wished to remain anonymous, discovered it had previously been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s fully attributed to Dali. The painting is to be offered for sale by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins on October 23. Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins, said: 'The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this 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.' The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, was discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance sale in 2023. It has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and has a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip, measures 38cm by 29cm. It is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, which was commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. Ms Downie said: 'The Albarettos who commissioned this work had initially asked Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon Dali's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights – a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. 'It seems Dali was fascinated with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line. 'It seems that this project was abandoned, with Dali only having completed 100 of the intended 500 works. '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. 'It is the 50 that were retained by the family that were published in 2016 by the Folio Society. 'I think, given that Dali engineered the commission to suit his whims, that he very much enjoyed this project and the subject matter. 'It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Salvador Dalí painting bought for £150 at house clearance sale valued at £20-30,000
It is not a painting that screams it is a masterpiece by Salvador Dalí to the untrained eye. So when the unusual picture went up for auction in a house clearance sale in Cambridge two years ago, it attracted only two bidders – and sold for £150. Now, it has been valued at £20,000 to £30,000 after it was confirmed to be an illustration of an 'old sultan' that Dalí painted in 1966. Vecchio Sultano, a mixed media artwork made with watercolour paint and felt-tip, is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights – one of 500 illustrations the great surrealist artist intended to create of the Middle Eastern folktales. 'Dalí was quite obsessed with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line,' said Gabrielle Downie, a fine art specialist at Cheffins in Cambridge, which is selling the Dalí artwork on 23 October. Dalí's patrons, Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto, commissioned the illustrations and Rizzoli, an Italian publishing house, was planning to publish them. But Dalí abandoned the project after completing just 100 of the 500 illustrations – leaving all of them unpublished. 'Of these 100 illustrations, half remained with the publishing house Rizzoli and were either damaged or lost, while the other 50 stayed with the Albarettos and were later inherited by their daughter, Christina – who was also Dalí's goddaughter,' said Downie. The 50 illustrations retained by the Albaretto family were finally published in 2014, reigniting interest in the abandoned project and raising intrigue over the whereabouts of the unpublished pieces. However, the Cambridge-based antiques dealer John Russell (not his real name), 60, was unaware of this two years ago when he snapped up Vecchio Sultano at a house clearance sale after spotting Dalí's signature in the bottom right corner. 'The auction isn't online, so you turn up, view, and whatever you see, [that] is your chance to discover a treasure,' he said. 'Most of the time, I buy stuff that I like. 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?' He was told the painting had been found in the garage of a London house and could barely contain his excitement when he saw stickers on the back, indicating it had been listed in a Sotheby's auction in the 1990s. 'I did a little bit of research and I couldn't believe what I was looking at.' Russell decided to bid for it 'on the spur of the moment', gambling on his ability to spot a fake after spending years avidly watching the BBC TV show Fake or Fortune. 'It's one of my favourite programmes.' The painting, which depicts a bejewelled sultan, did not command widespread admiration: despite being described as an original painting by Dalí, the vendors 'hadn't even listed it with a reserve [price]', he said, and 'there was no interest in the room' from other dealers Russell knew. One person bid against him during the auction – and dropped out when Russell offered £150. A few months later, via eBay in the US, he tracked down the relevant Sotheby's sale catalogue, which listed the 38cm x 29cm painting and demonstrated it had been previously identified as Dalí's work and asked Cheffins to value it. Cheffins consulted the renowned Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes, who certified the painting as authentic. He told the Guardian the style, subject and colours of the illustration matched those of other pieces in the series, along with the quality and size of the paper. 'People expect to see very surrealist pieces by Dalí. This one is not surrealist, but it's a Dalí,' Descharnes said.
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Salvador Dali painting bought at house clearance sale identified as original
The art dealer who purchased the mixed media piece, who wished to remain anonymous, discovered it had previously been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s fully attributed to Dali. The painting is to be offered for sale by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins on October 23. Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins, said: 'The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this 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.' The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, was discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance sale in 2023. It has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and has a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip, measures 38cm by 29cm. It is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, which was commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. Ms Downie said: 'The Albarettos who commissioned this work had initially asked Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon Dali's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights – a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. 'It seems Dali was fascinated with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line. 'It seems that this project was abandoned, with Dali only having completed 100 of the intended 500 works. '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. 'It is the 50 that were retained by the family that were published in 2016 by the Folio Society. 'I think, given that Dali engineered the commission to suit his whims, that he very much enjoyed this project and the subject matter. 'It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Salvador Dali painting bought at house clearance sale identified as original
A Salvador Dali painting that was discovered at a house clearance sale and bought for £150 has been valued at up to £30,000 after it was authenticated as an original. The art dealer who purchased the mixed media piece, who wished to remain anonymous, discovered it had previously been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s fully attributed to Dali. The painting is to be offered for sale by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins on October 23. Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins, said: 'The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern artworld making this 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.' The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano, was discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance sale in 2023. It has been certified as authentic by Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes and has a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip, measures 38cm by 29cm. It is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, which was commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. Ms Downie said: 'The Albarettos who commissioned this work had initially asked Dali to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon Dali's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights – a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. 'It seems Dali was fascinated with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line. 'It seems that this project was abandoned, with Dali only having completed 100 of the intended 500 works. '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. 'It is the 50 that were retained by the family that were published in 2016 by the Folio Society. 'I think, given that Dali engineered the commission to suit his whims, that he very much enjoyed this project and the subject matter. 'It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers.'
