During the holiday season donations to Goodwill start pouring in; one location in Federal Way, Washington got more than they bargained for this year. A signed etching by the pioneering Surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, was dropped off by an anonymous donor and quickly identified by employee, Shea Munroe. The piece was added to Goodwill’s online auction system for a mere $999 and the price has continued to soar. It is currently listed on the organization’s auction site at $18,525. The auction ends tonight, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. PST.
Authenticated by Period House Appraisal Service in Tacoma, the framed color etching titled, Reflections, is from the artist’s The Cycles of Life Suite and features one of Dali’s famous melting watches. Signed and numbered “126/150,” the piece is also labeled as an “etching and photolithography from collage.” Although the work’s paper is slightly warped due to humidity and there is some discoloration to one part of the matting and a few scratches and scuffs to the glass and frame, the etching will undoubtedly sell for an impressive price.
Goodwill trains their employees to look for potentially high-value items and asks that they put aside any signed items or pieces with paperwork attached. Other valuable items that have appeared on the Goodwill auction site are a Rolex watch that sold for $900, a diamond ring that reached $12,000, and a Frank Weston Benson watercolor that fetched $165,002 in 2006, the most valuable piece to sell online to date.