The 1921 work of art hit the online raffle market at the end of the month.
A work by one of the most famous artists of all time can be yours, for little more than $100.
“Nature Morte,” a 1921 painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, is set to hit the online raffle market at the end of the month and thanks to a Paris-nonprofit, the entry is starting at €100, or about $113.
The nonprofit Aider les Autres, which is French for “Help the Others,” announced the online raffle in 2019 in order to drum up awareness and ticket sales. They will announce the winner on March 30.
While the idea of owning a Picasso at such a bargain price is exhilarating for any art lover, the money is going to a great cause regardless of the winner.
Aider les Autres teamed up with Care International, a humanitarian organization that plans to use the money raised to build and restore wells, toilets and washing facilities in African nations such as Morocco, Cameroon and Madagascar. Some 200,000 people will have their lives changed by this project.
About 200,000 tickets were made available to purchase, with the goal of raising €20 million, or about $22 million.
“Nature Morte” is owned by art collector David Nahmad and according to reports, he and his brother Ezra collectively own about 300 Picasso works. The particular piece for raffle depicts an abstract drinking glass and a newspaper.
David Nahmed, 72, told the Associated Press he is bidding an anxious farewell to the painting. He said that the art he collected over the years, which is worth over $3 billion, is like his children and parting with them is not easy.
“This raffle would not have succeeded if the name was not Picasso. I tried to propose other artists’ names. But it would not work, because they wanted a name that would appeal to everybody. It has to be Picasso. Picasso is the magic name,” he told the AP.
“I think this painting is extremely chic, and the fact that it is small, it makes it not pretentious. A small jewel,” he said, adding, “We bought so many Picassos now, I don’t remember the specific reason.”
The Picasso family has given their blessings to the project, telling the Telegraph that Pablo would be very happy that his work was inspiring charity.
RELATED STORIES
