Want a chance to own a Picasso? And help preserve history?
“L’homme au Gibus”
This is not your normal sort of charity raffle. Not when the prize is an original Picasso, and the cause is an ancient city in need of repair.
Olivier Picasso is raffling off one of his grandfather's paintings. The work, called "L'homme au Gibus", will be displayed at the Pavilion of Art and Design in London from October 16 to 20.
The cubist piece by Pablo Picasso could be yours, says Picasso, the grandson: "It's a very innovative idea to create a sensation around a foundation and a good idea to protect the city of Tyre."
Tyre, in Lebanon, is an ancient city with a Roman Hippodrome that is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. During Lebanon's civil war of the 1970s and 1980s, Tyre’s ancient monuments were damaged. Money from the raffle will go to restore the city.
Olivier Picasso is hoping to sell 50,000 raffle tickets, and raise over $7 million to restore Tyre. Ticket prices are sure to be high, but a 1 in 50,000 chance seems much better than your average lottery.
"My grandfather was a pioneer in every sense of the word," Picasso says, "I'm sure that giving away something to help people would have been natural so I'm sure he would have been proud."
The raffle drawing will take place in Paris on December 18 and will be broadcast live on this website.
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