Sometimes You Find Signed Salvador Dalí Lithographs In a Garage

Sometimes you can be surprised by the random objects that turn up in your garage. In the house where I grew up, there were a series of farming implements that were never used during the entirety of my time living there. For someone else, those mysterious artifacts might be tools, books or license plates. And every once in a while, the trove hidden away in the back of a garage turns out to be a valuable work of art.

Or, in the case of one London resident, 10 signed lithographs by the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí — plus another five by Théo Tobiasse. Now, they’re heading to auction at Hansons Richmond — and are expected to sell for up to £5,000 (or $5,523 at current exchange rates) when the auction commences on September 30.

“I was invited to assess some antiques at a client’s home. During the visit the vendor took me to his garage and, lo and behold, out came this treasure trove of surrealist lithographs — all 15 of them,” said Hansons Richmond associate director Chris Kirkham. “They’d been tucked away and forgotten about for around 50 years. It felt quite surreal.”

As Kirkham explained, the prints were purchased decades ago for a home decoration project that never materialized. “The buyer paid a modest £500 for the lithographs, all unframed, in a closing down sale at a central London gallery in the 1970s,” he said in a statement. “He purchased them with a view to framing them for his home in Berkeley Square but never got round to it. So the prints ended up in his garage.”

What Did London’s Latest Art Auctions Reveal About the Contemporary Art Market?

A sizable Hockney sale, plus positive news for Basquiat buffs

In announcing the discovery, Kirkham also pointed out that the Dalí lithographs could sell for a relatively affordable price of between £300 and £500 (or $394 to $656) each — which could make for an entry point into Dalí’s work for aficionados with a modest budget. It’s also a good reminder to keep an eye on your garage; you never know what treasures might be lurking there.