A treasure trove of 10 lithographs signed by renowned Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí have been discovered in a London garage.
The haul also includes five lithographs by French painter, engraver, illustrator and sculptor Theo Tobiasse. All were found in a garage in Mayfair’s Berkeley Square by antiques expert Chris Kirkham.
Chris, associate director of London’s Hansons Richmond auction house, said: “It was an amazing find. I was invited to assess some antiques and collectibles 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. They’d been tucked away and forgotten for around 50 years. It did feel quite surreal. You just never know what you’re going to uncover on a routine home visit.
“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 purchased them with a view to framing them for his home in Berkeley Square but just never got round to it. They ended up forgotten in the garage. They were rediscovered because the seller has been having a clear out. He’s looking to retire and move abroad, so his treasure trove of surrealist lithographs will see the light of day at auction.”
The Dalí lithographs, guided at £300-£500 each, and Tobiasse works, £100-£300 each, will go under the hammer at Hansons Richmond on September 30. Together, the entire collection could make in the region of £5,000.
Chris said: “Dali and Tobiasse are highly regarded and their works sought after. The lithographs provide a wonderfully inexpensive way to own a print signed by these important artists.”
World-famous surrealist Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was born in Figueres, Catalonia, and received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents.
One of the most versatile and prolific artists of the 20th century, he’s renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship and bizarre images. Influenced by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Sigmund Freud, his artistic repertoire included paintings, sculpture, film, graphic art, animation, fashion and photography.
Théo Tobiasse (1927-2012) was born in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine, in 1927, to Jewish parents. The family moved to Paris in 1931 where his typographer father found work in a Russian printing press. Tobiasse’s first canvases were exhibited at the Salon des Peintres du Sud-Est in 1960. In 1961 he won a prize for ‘Young Mediterranean Painting’ and the Dorothy-Gould Prize. In 1962 he exhibited at Paris’s Galerie du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and decided to devote himself solely to visual arts.
Auction: The lithographs will be offered in Hansons Richmond’s September 30 Fine Art, Antiques and Collectibles Auction. Further entries invited
Hansons Richmond enquiries/valuations: Chris Kirkham: [email protected] | 07469 353077
Saleroom: Hansons Richmond, 6 Parkleys Parade, Upper Richmond Road, TW10 5LF, offers monthly auctions and free valuations on Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am-4pm.
