A French charity is selling affordable raffle tickets to anyone hoping for the chance to own an extremely valuable painting by the famous artist Pablo Picasso.
The painting is valued at over $1 million and raffle tickets are available for $116, ArtNet.com reported on Wednesday.
“A raffle at Christie’s Paris on April 14 will see a lucky winner receive Tête de Femme, a 1941 painting by Picasso that depicts a distorted woman’s head in ashen tones,” the outlet said, noting organizers are hoping to raise $14 million for the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.
An image shows the painting that will be offered:
The report also said, $1 million of that goal “will go towards Opera Gallery from whose collection Tête de Femme comes.”
The website where those interested may buy a ticket called them a “great gift idea.”
The disease known as Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that worsens over time, according to the Alzheimer’s Association:
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years after diagnosis but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors.
Picasso’s grandson, Olivier Widmaier Picasso, told Reuters he was “pleased and honored” to join the raffle effort because “it reminds me of my grandfather’s generosity for his family, for his friends, but also for big causes and especially during the civil war in Spain or the Second World War. It was very important for him to be discreet, to be generous, and to help the people who were really in need.”
Pablo Picasso was famous in the modern art world and had a “most distinct style and eye for artistic creation,” the Pablo Picasso website read.
“Picasso’s ability to produce works in an astonishing range of styles made him well respected during his own lifetime. After his death in 1973 his value as an artist and inspiration to other artists has only grown. He is without a doubt destined to permanently etch himself into the fabric of humanity as one of the greatest artists of all time,” it said.
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