Dali portrait on offer in surrealist auction

The Associated Press, Thursday, January 31, 2013, 8:30am (PST)

LONDON (AP) — Salvador Dali's portrait of a New York society style icon and Joan Miro's homage to his Catalan roots are going on sale at a London auction of surrealist masterpieces.

Dali's 1943 "Portrait of Mrs. Harrison Williams" will go under the hammer Tuesday, with an estimated price of between 1.5 million and 2 million pounds ($2.4 million and $3.2 million).

Dali painted the ultra-rich and super-stylish socialite — who later became Countess Mona Bismarck — barefoot and dressed in black rags.

Also for sale is Miro's "The Farmer and His Wife," a vibrant portrait of human figures and barnyard animals, valued at between 5.5 million pounds and 7.5 million pounds.

Also Tuesday, Sotheby's holds an Impressionist and modern art auction, including works by Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Jean-Michel Basquiat.