Commissioned annually from the artist between 1959-76 by Spanish pharmaceutical laboratory Hoechst Ibérica, the illustrations were used as the company’s seasonal greeting cards for clients.
While Dalí’s original works that will be offered at the auction on June 4 were previously on loan for the last 20 years at the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation in Figueras, the artist’s hometown, the auction house said that the consignor is not the laboratory as they have since been sold to “a larger group”.
The works will be offered as separate lots with estimates ranging from €20,000 up to €100,000. The collection as a whole is valued at €650,000-1m.
Each of the ink, gouache, watercolour or collages comes with a note from the artist explaining the work.
They feature some of Dalí’s most famous subjects such as metamorphosis, Daphne and Don Quixote, while others focus on the benefits of medicinal plants. Other examples are based on a Christmas theme.
Artcurial is exhibiting the works in Munich and Vienna ahead of the sale.
