Salvador Dalí Painting Bought £150 Sells at Auction for £45.7k

A water-colour and felt-tip drawing by surrealist master Salvador Dalí was recently sold at auction for £45,700, despite having been bought just two years earlier for a mere £150.

The work, originally discovered at a house-clearance sale in Cambridge by an antiques dealer, features a bizarre, other-worldly “old sultan” image and carries the signature of Dalí. 

Initially, the buyer suspected it might be a fake but decided to pay the modest sum anyway after spotting Dalí’s signature and a Sotheby’s sticker on the back. The piece was later authenticated by auction house Cheffins, who identified it as part of a lost series of 500 illustrations Dalí intended to create for The Arabian Nights in 1966. 

Despite its modest purchase price, the painting generated “incredible” interest at the sale. As Cheffins’ director put it: “Dalí originals just don’t come up that often.” The earlier owner spent over £4,000 on authentication and provenance research—and states he now feels “over the moon” at the outcome. 

While described as “definitely a Marmite picture” in aesthetic terms, the auction proves how hidden gems in the art world can shift dramatically in value once provenance is established. In this case, what began as a gamble at a clearance sale turned into a substantial windfall. The sale reminds us that in the art market, recognition and authentication often define value far more than initial cost.

Key Takeaways:

A painting bought for just £150 was authenticated as a lost Dalí and sold for £45,700.

The work was part of a previously unknown series Dalí intended for The Arabian Nights.

Authentication and provenance dramatically increased its market value.

Original Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/oct/24/lost-salvador-dali-painting-bought-for-150-pounds-sold-at-auction-for-47700