DALLAS, TX.- The only known Salvador Dalí painting of the Western Wall in Jerusalem will find a new home when it crosses the block in Heritage Auctions' Modern & Contemporary Art Auction Nov. 19.Dalí's Le Mur des Lamentations (estimate: $400,000-800,000) reflects the legendary Spanish artist's keen interest in people's different religious faiths.

"Dalí was fascinated by religious ideas and subject matter,” Heritage Auctions Vice President of Modern & Contemporary Art Leon Benrimon said. "He created many different series on religious ideas, but what makes this piece really special is that it is the only rendition of an actual holy site. It's a wonderful tie-in of the Western Wall, where all three monotheistic religions congregate.”

A leading proponent of Surrealism, Dalí is best known for his surrealist compositions like The Persistence of Memory. He was also a prolific writer, routinely penning fiction, poetry, essays and criticism for major magazines and journals. This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of a certificate of authenticity, dated November 12, 2007, from Robert and Nicolas Descharnes, who are widely recognized experts on the artist's life and often are consulted by museums, collectors and auction houses in reference to Dalí.

Mel Ramos's The Daredevil, 1962 (estimate: $200,000-300,000) is one of a handful of the artist's superhero canvases to be offered at auction since the 1990s. It is fresh to the market having been in the same private collection since 1970. Daredevil appeared in comics from the early 1940s through the mid-1950s. The Daredevil, who is unrelated to the Marvel character of the same name, appeared as one of the stars of the Daredevil Battles Hitler comic, which was the debut issue of Daredevil comics.

"Like other Pop artists, Mel Ramos was a big fan of comic books,” said Holly Sherratt, Heritage Auctions Director of Modern & Contemporary Art. "After working in the prevailing abstract expressionist style, he turned to comic characters as a source of inspiration for his art. He would often trade his paintings for comics. As his daughter mentioned to us recently, even later in life when his paintings became quite valuable, he still thought these were fair trades.”

Ramos was one of the first Pop artists. His work was included in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's version of the trailblazing exhibition "Six Painters and the Object.”

The auction includes 60 lots from the Collection of Robert J. Dodds III, a trusts and estates lawyer and renowned collector. Dodds was a leader in the fine art community in western Pennsylvania, where he was a board member of the Carnegie Museum of Art. Thanks in part to Dodds's personal gifts, as well as those from his family's charitable trust and from his law partners, the CMOA's collection added important works by Carl Andre, Mel Bochner, Lothar Baumgarten, Barry Le Va, Sol LeWitt, Bruce Nauman and William Wegman, among others.

"Robert Dodds assembled an extremely interesting collection, one that he built up over a long period of time,” Benrimon said. "A lot of his higher-value works are installations, situational works. For me, that's an interesting idea, because these become items that are lived with, rather than hung on the wall but able to be moved. These are extraordinary artworks because they become part of your home and part of your life.

"His collection is exceptional for a number of reasons, one of which was the fact that he was not interested in art as an investment. Art was something he loved – he even named his dog 'Bochner' – and his passion is reflected throughout the extraordinary lots he acquired over the years.”

Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #506 (estimate: $100,000-150,000), first executed in 1986 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London is one of the top lots from the Dodds collection. LeWitt came up with the concept of what the installation should look like, and the winning bidder purchases a signed certificate and diagram of the piece. Once the work is purchased, the artist's studio will recreate the work on the new owner's wall.

· Carl Andre Merrymount, 1992 (estimate: $100,000-150,000)




· Gilbert and George Lavatory, 1996 (estimate: $100,000-150,000)

· Richard Long Red Stone Circle, 1995 (estimate: $60,000-80,000)

· Mel Bochner Triangular and Square: Numbers (or Points), 1973 (estimate: $10,000-15,000)

· Barry Le Va Drawing Interruptions: Blocked Structures #6 (Combined in 2 Perspectives), 1981-82 (estimate: $8,000-12,000)

David Wynne's Girl with a Dolphin (estimate: $80,000-120,000) is one of London's most recognizable works of art. Situated on the north bank of the Thames River, near Tower Bridge, it was installed in 1975; Boy with a Dolphin was installed later at Albert Bridge in Chelsea. The self-taught Wynne transitioned his love of animals, which began when he originally studied zoology, into his art. So committed was he to his pursuit of detail that he eschewed studying photographs, opting instead to immerse himself in the animals' environments, even when it meant spending hours studying them under water.

Wayne Guangyi's No Pepsi, 2005 (estimate: $80,000-120,000) comes from a private collector who acquired it directly from the artist. The artist is known for his bright, bold Great Criticism series of paintings and prints that have become iconic visions of the Political Pop aspect of contemporary Chinese art.

Other top lots in the auction include, but are not limited to:

· Will Cotton's Kiss Me, 2001 (estimate: $50,000-75,000)

· Emil Nolde Summer Flowers, circa 1945-50 (estimate: $50,000-70,000)

· Emil Nolde Seascape, 1946 (estimate: $50,000-70,000)

· Alexander Calder's The Dotted Path, 1963 (estimate: $50,000-70,000)

· Roger Brown's All Night Stand, 1969 (estimate: $50,000-70,000)