# Salvador Dalí artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/salvador-dali/
Profile generated: 2026-04-28T22:28:19.699Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1904-05-11
- Death date: 1989-01-23
- Nationality: Spanish
- Movements: Surrealism, Cubism (early work), Classicism (later period)
- Common media: oil painting, printmaking (etchings, lithographs, woodcuts), sculpture, drawing, jewelry design, film, stage and costume design

## About Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and filmmaker whose name became virtually synonymous with Surrealism. Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí trained at Madrid's Royal Academy of Fine Arts before joining André Breton's Surrealist circle in Paris in 1929. His arrival invigorated the movement through his development of the paranoiac-critical method, a deliberate technique for channeling subconscious imagery into visual art. Though expelled from the official Surrealist group in 1934 over political disagreements, Dalí's dreamlike compositions—characterized by meticulous draftsmanship and startling juxtapositions—remain the public face of Surrealist painting. His career later expanded into theater design, jewelry, filmmaking, and writing. The Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, based in his hometown, now stewards his estate and manages three museum sites. Dalí's works are held by virtually every major museum of modern art worldwide.

## Common works and media

Dalí's auction and appraisal record includes original oil paintings on canvas and panel, watercolors and gouaches on paper, pen-and-ink and pencil drawings, etchings and drypoints, lithographs (often in large numbered editions), bronze sculptures and multiples, ceramic pieces, jewelry designs produced in collaboration with goldsmiths, posters and exhibition prints, and stage and costume designs. Subject matter ranges from iconic surrealist motifs—melting clocks, elongated figures, dream landscapes—to religious scenes, portraits (notably of his wife Gala), still lifes, and illustrations for literary commissions such as Dante's Divine Comedy and Alice in Wonderland.

## Market and appraisal context

Salvador Dalí is one of the most liquid artists in the international auction market, with 1,049 recorded lots in the Appraisily auction index spanning from September 2003 through April 2026. Of those, 775 carry a realized price. The price distribution is extremely wide: the recorded maximum is $4,500,000 for a top-tier work, while the 25th percentile sits at $500 and the median at $850—reflecting the vast volume of editioned prints and multiples that dominate turnover. The 75th percentile reaches $2,032. Auction activity has surged in the most recent twelve months, with 636 lots catalogued compared to 262 in the prior twelve-month window. Ten named auction houses account for the highest frequency of offerings, ranging from major houses such as Christie's, Bonhams, and Swann Auction Galleries to specialist and regional firms including Forum Auctions (UK), Millon & Associés, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden, Historia Auctionata, Aletheia Subastas, and Pook & Pook Inc. This breadth of house participation underscores that Dalí material moves through virtually every tier of the auction ecosystem, from blue-chip evening sales to regional collector events.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Salvador Dalí is one of the most liquid artists in the international auction market, with 1,049 recorded lots in the Appraisily auction index spanning from September 2003 through April 2026. Of those, 775 carry a realized price. The price distribution is extremely wide: the recorded maximum is $4,500,000 for a top-tier work, while the 25th percentile sits at $500 and the median at $850—reflecting the vast volume of editioned prints and multiples that dominate turnover. The 75th percentile reaches $2,032. Auction activity has surged in the most recent twelve months, with 636 lots catalogued compared to 262 in the prior twelve-month window. Ten named auction houses account for the highest frequency of offerings, ranging from major houses such as Christie's, Bonhams, and Swann Auction Galleries to specialist and regional firms including Forum Auctions (UK), Millon & Associés, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden, Historia Auctionata, Aletheia Subastas, and Pook & Pook Inc. This breadth of house participation underscores that Dalí material moves through virtually every tier of the auction ecosystem, from blue-chip evening sales to regional collector events.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal for a Dalí work would layer the owner's submitted photographs, stated dimensions, declared medium, and any signature or edition markings against the auction-record comparables above. Key steps include: (1) confirming medium—original oil paintings, watercolors, and unique drawings are in a different value tier from editioned prints and sculpture multiples; (2) verifying catalogue raisonné references—Field and Michler & Löpsinger (M&L) numbers, visible in recent Forum Auctions lots, are standard print-catalogue identifiers and should be cross-checked; (3) documenting edition size, impression number, and paper type for prints; (4) assessing condition given the age range of material (1920s–1980s) with attention to foxing, fading, toning, and any restoration; (5) compiling provenance history, including gallery labels, prior sale records, and exhibition history; and (6) selecting comparable lots of the same medium, approximate date, and size from the 775 priced records to establish a well-grounded value range. Works listed as 'attributed to'—as seen in recent lots—carry substantially lower values and require additional authentication effort, ideally through the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: Original oil paintings command the highest prices (up to $4,500,000 in recorded data), while editioned prints and multiples cluster between $300 and $2,000 depending on edition specifics and catalogue references.
- Period: Works from the core Surrealist period (1929–1941) are the most sought-after; later works from the Classic/Nuclear Mysticism period trade at lower but still significant levels.
- Authentication and catalogue references: Prints should carry verified Field and/or Michler & Löpsinger (M&L) catalogue numbers. Works lacking catalogue raisonné documentation or marked 'attributed to' trade at steep discounts.
- Edition details: For prints, edition size, impression number, signature status, and whether the sheet was signed in lifetime versus posthumously all materially affect value.
- Provenance: Documented ownership history through notable collections, galleries, or auction-house records is essential given well-documented forgery and misattribution risks in the Dalí market.
- Condition: Works on paper from the 1920s–1980s are susceptible to foxing, acid burn, fading, and handling creases. Condition reports directly affect appraised value.
- Size and subject matter: Larger-scale paintings with iconic surrealist imagery (melting clocks, elongated figures, dream landscapes) tend to achieve premium prices; smaller prints from literary illustration series (Divine Comedy, Alice in Wonderland, Don Quixote) trade in lower brackets.
- Attribution confidence: Lots catalogued as 'attributed to' rather than firmly attributed—such as the recent ARCADIA 'La suite catalane' lot at €700—demonstrate the substantial discount the market applies when provenance is uncertain.

### Collector notes

- Liquidity is very high: 636 lots were offered in the most recent twelve months alone, meaning there is an active resale market for most Dalí works, especially prints and multiples.
- Price dispersion is extreme. Do not use a single auction result to estimate value. The recorded range runs from $10 to $4,500,000, and the median is $850—most lots are editioned prints, not paintings.
- Recent print lots at Forum Auctions (UK) realized between £300 and £800 for individual sheets from series such as Les Caprices de Goya de Dalí, Songs of Songs of Solomon, and Lyle Stuart Tarot Prints. These prices are typical for the print market.
- A sculpture lot—Vénus spatiale at Aguttes—realized €14,500 in March 2026, illustrating the higher bracket for three-dimensional multiples.
- If you are considering purchasing a Dalí print, insist on Field and/or M&L catalogue references, a clear edition number, and documented provenance. Works without these carry elevated forgery risk.
- For sellers, compiling catalogue references, condition reports, and provenance documentation before consignment can materially improve realized prices, especially at houses like Christie's or Bonhams where buyer expectations for documentation are highest.

### Market caveats

- Dalí authorized—or was connected to—an enormous volume of printed editions during his lifetime, and he reportedly signed blank sheets of paper. This means signature alone is insufficient for authentication; catalogue raisonné verification is essential.
- Forgery and misattribution are well-documented issues. The recent lot catalogue explicitly includes an 'attributed to' designation, confirming that attribution uncertainty is present in current market offerings.
- The Appraisily auction-record index reflects 1,049 lots aggregated from public auction feeds. Individual lot records may be incomplete (e.g., some lots lack price-realized data or source URLs). Appraisal conclusions should not rely on a single lot result.
- Auction results span multiple currencies (EUR, GBP, USD). Price comparisons across currencies should account for exchange rates at the time of sale.
- The recent twelve-month lot count (636) is more than double the prior twelve-month count (262). This increase may reflect expanded data coverage rather than a pure market-demand surge; interpret volume trends cautiously.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/salvador-dali/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable (Aguttes): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-salvador-dali-1904-1989-venus-spatiale-104-c-1956e4e061
- Invaluable (Casa d'aste ARCADIA): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-salvador-dali-attributed-to-figueres-1904-figueres-1989-la-suite-catalane-19-c-005157aec2
- Invaluable (Forum Auctions - UK): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-salvador-dali-1904-1989-le-portrait-de-la-fontaine-from-la-bestiaire-de-la-fontaine-field-74-1a-m-l-653-162-c-ba20518805

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independently researched artist identity data with public auction records, auction-house catalogue descriptions, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot results when those records are available. Sources include museum records, library authority files, the artist's official foundation, and major auction-house archives. Market observations are grounded in documented public sales and are not price predictions or formal appraisals.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79021554
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/1364
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/salvador-dali-971
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/19752
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/64004109/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5577
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD
- Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí: http://www.salvador-dali.org/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500009365