Salvador Dali Masterpiece "Printemps Necrophilique" Expected To Fetch $10M At Auction

Salvador Dali's surrealist dreamscapes inspired the imaginations of millions; now it looks like the artist's wildest dreams are about to become a reality. His 1936 masterpiece "Printemps Necrophilique" will lead Sotheby's surrealist auction next month. Originally owned by Dali collaborator and fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, the piece is expected to sell for over $10 million on May 2 in New York.

The painting features a seated man and flower-headed woman set in a puzzling desert that fades from hyperrealistic to hallucinatory. The piece embodies Dali's ability to shift seamlessly from memory to the subconscious as a leader of the surrealist movement. Surrealism serves as a great inspirational force behind contemporary fine art, literature and fashion, a fact which is reflected in surrealist works' soaring prices. "Surrealism is the last great movement of 20th-century modernism to be fully appreciated in the marketplace," said Simon Shaw, the head of Impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's.

Just how appreciated will be determined when the work will go up for auction at Sotheby's. Works by Paul Delvaux, Rene Magritte and Max Ernst are also for sale.

What would you pay to own an original work from the world's famous mustachioed, lobster-loving artist? Let us know in the comments section below.

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