LONDON, Oct 1 — Eleven lithographs signed by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali sparked an auction battle yesterday after being stored and forgotten in a London garage for about 50 years.

The prints, which were found as the seller cleaned up his lock-up in the upmarket Mayfair area, had been bought in the 1970s at an art gallery closing down sale for £500 (RM2,782).

Chris Kirkham, associate director of auction house Hansons Richmond, said each lot exceeded its guide price of between £500 (RM2,782) to £700 (RM3,895).

The most sought-after — an abstract colour lithograph of nude figures, a limited edition print signed by the artist himself — was sold for £4,900 (RM27,266)

Dali's 1929 portrait of French poet Paul Eluard sold for a staggering £13.5 million (RM75.1 million) at Sotheby's in London in 2011.

But Kirkham told AFP that demand for the lithographs, even at a lower price, had been "exceptional”, with worldwide interest.

"They sort of tick a lot of boxes. You've got a heavyweight artist that has an enduring appeal. They're vibrant and colourful which makes them commercial and I think they're probably fit in anyone's home," he said.

"And they're nice and big, and they're decorative, so they've got a good mixture of things.”

The sale was an example of how online bidding had allowed more private buyers a chance to buy art at competitive prices, he added.

"We have one lady that bought three today,” he said.

"She saw them from the advertisements and she just wants them for her home on the wall which is great which is nice because previously 10 years ago auctions would only really sell largely 80 to 90 percent to trade, then they would resell them.” — AFP