An etching by Surrealist master Salvador Dali was discovered at a Goodwill in Tacoma, Washington this week. The signed artwork was dropped off by an unidentified donor and was quickly identified by an art-savvy employee. It has since been added to the organization's online auction system, offering the rare find for a bargain $999 starting price, reports The Tacoma News Tribune.
Original hand signed and numbered colored etching by Salvador Dali, titled "Reflection" or "Reflections," from "The Cycles Of Life Suite." Item is listed as an original colored etching, 10.5 inches x 8.25 inches.
Predictably, the price has soared since news of the Goodwill Dali surfaced. Titled "Reflection," the work was last listed for $10,500 online, with three days left to go.
According to The Seattle Times, it was Federal Way quality-control officer Shea Munroe who noticed Dali's signature on the abandoned donation. She then notified store manager Ed Dopp who contacted the Tacoma online operation to report the find.
Dylan Lippert, an e-sales manager at the Tacoma Goodwill, stated in an e-mail exchange with The Huffington Post that donation attendants are trained to look for higher value items, such as paintings or pieces of artwork. "Anything with a signature or paperwork attached to the back gets a second look," he explained. "After a bit of research It was apparent that [the Dali etching] was indeed something very special."
Lippert wrote that the work has been independently authenticated by Period House Gallery & Appraisal Service in Tacoma, confirming that the etching is part of Dali's "Cycles of Life Suite," numbered 126 of 150 works. A national expert from the Doubletake Gallery in Minnesota named Robert Varner told the The Seattle Times that he believes the work to be the real deal, citing its signature, sequence number, and the original gallery authentication that appears on the etching. In terms of the value, Varner said, “The last one I bought for $500, for inventory,” he said. “I sold it for $650. The book value for the piece –- it’s notoriously high –- is $10,000.”
The Dali joins the ranks of 3,000 other items up for sale on the Goodwill's website. Other high-priced items that have appeared on the site are a Rolex watch donated last year which sold for $900, a Rickenbacker slide guitar which brought in $1,627 and a $12,000 diamond ring. Lippert revealed that the highest item ever sold on Goodwill's auction website was in 2006, when a Frank Weston Benson watercolor fetched a whopping $165,002.
Tell us what you think of this week's thrift store find in the comments section and scroll through the slideshow below for more unexpected art discoveries.
