Dali Prices Surge at Auction!
The landscape of the Dali market is changing forever.
With Top Quality Offerings, Sotheby’s Nets $181 Million
By Paul Chimera
Publicity Director of the
Original Dali Museum of Beachwood, Ohio
In the early 1970s, LIFE magazine published an in-depth article on Salvador Dali’s success as a world-renowned artist. It was titled “Dali’s Dollars.”
Nearly 40 years later, Dali and dollars continue to complement each other quite well. Recent auction sales are very strong evidence that the long-awaited surge in Dali prices may finally be upon us. Just like several years ago when his contemporary, Andy Warhol’s prices rose dramatically in a short period of time, Dali seems poised to make his move. The Dali market is now enjoying an up-tick nearly as pronounced as his upturned mustache.
Work on paper sells for 9 times high estimate
Dali:”Girafe en feu” (Giraffe on Fire)
Take, for instance, what occurred on November 4 at Sotheby’s in New York. Salvador Dali’s 1937 gouache, “Girafe en feu” (Giraffe on Fire), 22-1/4 in. by 30-3/8 in., went on the auction block with an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It brought an astounding $1,870,000. It was not only a record for any work on paper by the Catalan master, but sold for an astounding 9 times its expected price, indicating that even the professionals underestimate the willingness of Dali collectors to back up their passion with their pocket books.
To see the Sothebys auction, click here.
It was a shining star in a galaxy of bright financial news at Sotheby’s, which saw its 56 paintings, drawings and sculpture fetch a staggering $ 181,000,000.
