If you’re lucky enough, you could win Pablo Picasso masterpiece valued $1 million for just €100 ($135). The artist’s “L’homme au Gubus” (The Man with the Opera Hat), will be offered at the first-of-its-kind tombola on December 18 at Sotheby’s in Paris. The UNESCO-registered charity has issued 50,000 tickets at €100 hoping to raise $5 million. All proceeds from the auction will be given to a charity working to save the ancient city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
Dating back to 1914, the painting – gouache from the artist’s famous late Cubist period bears the artist’s signature in the upper right hand corner, and has been authenticated by by Picasso’s daughter, Maya Picasso, 78, and his son, Claude Ruiz-Picasso, 66, who help run the Picasso family estate and foundation.
This is the first time a work by Pablo Picasso has been offered on this way, and will be done exclusively online.
Olivier Picasso said the work is “beautiful and perfectly executed” and said he thought his grandfather would approve of the auction.
“My grandfather loved to be a pioneer in everything, from his personal life, his sentimental life, to his work at the atelier. I know that he would have said yes to this. I feel like continuing the process for him,” he told the Washington Post.
The drawing, which measures 30.5cm by 24cm (12-by-9.5-inch), was bought by the charity from a gallery in New York.
