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Maui Art Gallery Owners Locate a Lost Wax Sculpture, Which Was Held in a Vault of a Private Collecto

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Published
06/03/2022 by

Harte International Galleries, a fine art gallery specializing in rare, museum-quality masterworks, has discovered a long-lost wax sculpture by the late Salvador Dalí. Created in 1979, the wax sculpture was used as the model for an edition of bas-reliefs entitled of "Christ of St. John of the Cross." Previously thought to be lost in the reproduction process, the work was found to be privately stored for more than four decades.

The preservation of the original wax sculpture used to create platinum, gold, silver, and bronze bas-relief sculptures is incredibly challenging, which is why most thought the original wax, created by Dalí's own hands, was lost in the process – thus the term "Lost Wax." This long-unseen sculpture was discovered and subsequently acquired by Harte International Galleries Co-Owners Glenn and Devon Harte from a private art collector who stored the sculpture in the original plexiglass box that Dalí had used to hold the work while creating it. The "Lost Wax" is valued between $10 to $20 million.

"Harte International Galleries has sold a number of the "Christ of St. John of the Cross" bas-relief sculptures throughout our history, but no one thought the original work – done by senior Dalí in wax – still existed," said Glenn Harte, Co-Owner of Harte International Galleries.

Harte International Galleries worked with Nicolas Descharnes, the most recognized Dalí expert and final authority for many of the top auction houses. Descharnes' father, world-renowned Robert Descharnes served as Salvador Dalí's secretary until his death. For more than 40 years, the Descharnes family has fought to protect Dalí's legacy from forgeries and fakes. Located in Tours, France, Descharnes worked with world-renowned iconographic expert Carlos Evaristo for the authentication of the sculpture.  

"Following the discovery of the Lost Wax, Harte Galleries met with Descharnes and Evaristo in Avila, Spain, which is where St. John of Spain, a 14th Century monk, was inspired to draw the first impression of Christ on the cross from a heavenly view," said Harte. "Evaristo was passionate that the sculpture was a three-dimensional representation of the evolution of Christ's crucifixion and therefore given the same name as the most important religious work ever created by Dalí, "Christ of St. John of the Cross," which was painted in 1951, 28 years before the molding of the sculpture. This painting now hangs in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasow, Scottland."

Never before seen, Harte International Galleries plans to share the "Lost Wax" with the public, so art and history enthusiasts may experience this remarkable piece of art.

For more information about Harte International Galleries, visit www.hartegalleries.com.

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