'This is something special' | Original Salvador Dalí work of art found at Kitty Hawk thrift store

KITTY HAWK, N.C. (WTVD) -- Shoppers always keep their eyes peeled for a deal - and sometimes the find of a lifetime.

A couple now owns an original Salvador Dalí work of art, and they got it at a North Carolina thrift shop.

Wendy Hawkins is a volunteer at Hotline Pink thrift shop in Kitty Hawk. A piece of art at the shop caught her eye one day, so she took it to Seaside Art Gallery.

There's where it was determined the piece was from Salvador Dalí's series "The Divine Comedy."

"Sometimes when the paintings or pictures are in frames that are broken, and it was kind of dirty, they get passed by," Wendy told WAVY. "One day I saw this, with a bunch of other paintings lined up on the floor, and I said 'this is old, this is something special.'"

"It's rare to find anything like this," said Melanie Smith with Seaside Art Gallery. "And, thanks to Wendy, it was rescued and brought to light so people in the art world can really enjoy it."

A couple paid $1200 for the piece, which features Dalí's signature.