A thrift store shopper got more than she bargained for in Kitty Hawk, N.C. recently when she accidentally discovered an original wood engraving print by Salvador Dalí.
Wendy Hawkins volunteers twice a week at the Hotline Pink Thrift Shop, where the famous Spanish surrealist’s work caught her eye. “One day I saw this, with a bunch of other paintings lined up on the floor, and I said ‘this is old, this is something special,’” she told her local news station.
The Dalí engraving, originally priced between $10 and $50 by the thrift store, is signed by the artist. “Purgatory Canto 32” comes from a series of 100 illustrations depicting Dante’s The Divine Comedy, and it depicts a woman in blue next to a man in red.
Hawkins sought out the help of Melanie Smith, a local art gallery owner, to verify her discovery. “I researched and researched and researched and just when I would ask myself, ‘Do I think I have this right?’ I would go out and research some more,” Smith said. “Dalí is very difficult to authenticate because there’s so many nuances with his work.”
Once it was determined that the store was in fact in possession of a legitimate Dalí, the work was sold to a couple for $1,200. Proceeds from the sale will go to a shelter for runaway teens and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
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