A new lottery is being held in Paris, offering a painting by Pablo Picasso to the public through tickets priced at 100 euros. The aim of this initiative is to raise funds for research on Alzheimer’s disease, and the organizers hope to receive widespread participation from the public.
This program, titled “A Picasso for 100 Euros,” allows participants to enter the competition for one of the world’s most famous artists’ works by purchasing just one ticket. The lottery will take place at Christie’s auction house in Paris.
The organizers have announced that a total of 120,000 tickets will be sold for this event. If all tickets are sold, the proceeds could reach 12 million euros, with the majority going to support medical research.
According to the announced plan, one million euros from the amount will go to the Opéra Gallery, the owner of the artwork, and the rest of the funds will be allocated through the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation for scientific and medical projects. The initiative aims to create a sustainable source for funding research expenses.
The artwork featured in this lottery is titled “Woman’s Face,” a painting created by Picasso in 1941 using gouache on paper. It belongs to the later period of his artistic career and will be exhibited to the public at Christie’s auction house before the lottery takes place.
Similar lottery initiatives have been held in the past. The first one took place in 2013, where a worker in Pennsylvania won a Picasso painting created in 1914.
The second event, held in 2020, resulted in an Italian accountant winning another painting by Picasso. It was reported that the lottery ticket had been purchased as a Christmas gift and ultimately led to acquiring this valuable artwork.
In that second event, the painting was provided by David Nahmad, a well-known art collector. He believed that Picasso would have supported such initiatives, as he wanted his works to be accessible to people from various social classes.
Organizers have stated that the previous two editions of the lottery raised over 10 million euros in total. These funds were used for cultural projects in Lebanon and programs related to water and sanitation in parts of Africa.
