On the scale of art discoveries, this rates very low. First there’s the potential value; then, there’s the potential for the Salvador Dalí signed-and-numbered print found in a Grand Junction, Colorado Goodwill Shop to be a fake. Nevertheless, these art discovery stories seem to track the art market itself. Here’s the AP on the Dalí:
A customer at the Grand Junction shop recently pointed out the signature on the print of “The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus,” which was numbered 168 out of 300.
[…] Manager Bill Atwell told Denver’s KMGH-TV he doesn’t know who donated the piece. The store isn’t going to spend the money to hire experts to authenticate the work, but will let people bid for it and determine its value on their own. […] Mark Winter of Art Experts Inc. in Daytona Beach, Fla., which appraises and authenticates artwork, said it’s possible the piece in Grand Junction is real because it’s numbered. If it is real, Winter said, it could be worth $2,000 to $3,000. […] But he said there are also “over 200,000 fake Dali lithographs” floating around, and there’s a market for them too.
“They all have their following,” Winter said.
Grand Junction Goodwill Auctions Purported Dalí Print (Sky-Hi Daily News/AP)