An unusual picture sat in a London garage until a dealer paid £150 for it; experts confirmed it was a 1966 Salvador Dalí artwork that later sold for £45,700

For many years, an unusual picture was overlooked in a London garage, far away from the museums and collections which are normally associated with the great paintings. It was not an art historical treasure, but rather a colorful drawing of a sultan. But when an antiques dealer purchased it for £150, the forgotten work began a journey that eventually revealed its connection to one of the world’s most recognized artists, Salvador Dalí. Euronews reported that experts later confirmed that the artwork was an original 1966 Dalí illustration, titled Vecchio Sultano or “Old Sultan”. The artwork later sold for £45,700 at auction, according to The Guardian.

How a £150 purchase uncovered a forgotten masterpiece

The discovery began when antiques dealer John Russell bought the artwork from a garage clearance sale in London. The piece was hidden away and did not immediately attract attention as a significant artwork. But things were not what Russell expected, as there were clues that it could have a more significant past, like Dalí's signature and some marks related to an earlier auction record.


The artwork did not resemble any of Dalí’s surrealist paintings, such as his melting clocks and dreamlike landscapes. Rather, it depicted a well-dressed sultan wearing a decorative turban, drawn in watercolor and felt-tip pen. The unusual style of work was not immediately recognisable at first, but it also stemmed from another aspect of Dalí's work in which he had also been engaged, namely as an illustrator. It was later examined by experts, who confirmed that this was a genuine Dalí creation from the year 1966. The authentication process later revealed the painting to be part of a larger but incomplete work related to a set of illustrations that were part of a larger project drawn from Arabian Nights.

The Arabian Nights illustrations Dalí never completed

The “Vecchio Sultano” was one of the many illustrations Dalí was producing as part of his extensive project for a book of stories from Arabian Nights. The artist created hundreds of drawings, but this work was not completed. Only a portion of the planned works were produced, making surviving examples more significant for researchers and collectors. Because many artworks from unfinished projects can disappear over time, individual pieces may remain hidden for decades before being rediscovered. In this case, a single painting that was stored was an exhibit of an underappreciated body of Dalí's work.

The investigation that confirmed a Dalí original

Identifying whether a forgotten artwork is genuine requires more than recognizing a famous name. Specialists examine several details, including artistic style, materials, signatures, paper quality, dimensions, and historical records connected to the work. In the case of the Dalí illustration, experts compared it with other illustrations from the same period and investigated the relationship of the piece with Dalí's planned project on Arabian Nights. The examination was helpful in establishing that the piece was not a copy or an imitation, but an original work by Dalí. It also shows why the documentation of the history of an artwork or its personnel, known as provenance, is significant. Also, records indicating the location and changes in ownership of the object can aid in determining whether a work belongs to an artist's body of work.

The rediscovered work that expanded Dalí’s story

The rediscovered illustration adds another piece to the story of Dalí’s unfinished One Thousand and One Nights project. The artist intended to create 500 illustrations for the series, but only 100 were completed. Of those, 50 were lost or damaged at publishing house Rizzoli, while another 50 remained with the Albaretto family. Once authenticated, Vecchio Sultano re-entered the art world with focus and became part of the collection of researchers and collectors that appreciate a lesser-known facet of Dalí's work, beyond his celebrated surrealist paintings.

Why forgotten artworks still matter

The discovery of the Dalí illustration shows that valuable cultural objects were not always found in major collections or museums. Some artifacts can be found in homes, garages, or boxes, and only after some time can their importance be discovered by people in possession of those works. As for collectors, such discoveries may lead to certain financial gains, while historians find it valuable due to it contributing to the puzzle of the artist's biography.