Pablo Picasso, “Nature Morte” (1921) (© Succession Picasso, Paris, 2019)
For the average person, owning an original Picasso is a dream beyond reach. But for one lucky person, this dream will come true this January with the help of a Paris-based nonprofit raffling a Picasso painting worth €1 million (~$1.1 million) for just a €100 (~$111) a ticket.
The raffle is hosted by the French charity organization Aider les Autres (which translates to “Helping Others”), in partnership with the Picasso Estate. The international raffle, dubbed “1 Picasso for 100 Euros,” offers anyone who buys a ticket the chance of winning a 1921 oil still-life painting by the legendary artist. Titled “Nature Morte,” the painting depicts a newspaper next to a glass of absinthe. It is currently on view at the Picasso Museum in Paris.
Your chances of winning the painting are 1 in 200,000. The odds are slim but not entirely improbable. Every entrant can purchase up to 30 tickets.
The proceeds from the draw will go to the project CARE, which will use the funds to help provide clean drinking water for communities in Cameroon, Madagascar, and Morocco. The nonprofit says it will work to build and rehabilitate wells, washing facilities, and toilets in villages and schools in these countries.
This is the second edition of the raffle. In the first edition in 2013, Picasso’s “L’Homme au Gibus” (“Man with Opera Hat”) (1914) — which was also worth about $1 million — was similarily raffled for a €100 ticket. The lucky winner was Jeffrey Gonano, a 25-year-old fire-safety official from Pennsylvania. The proceeds from that raffle went to rebuilding the historic city of Tyre, Lebanon, which has suffered significant damages during Lebanon’s civil war between 1975 and 1990.
The 2020 raffle will be held on January 9 in Paris under the supervision of a court officer. Purchase your tickets here.
Don’t despair if you don’t win this time: The organizers announced plans to hold the raffle on an annual basis for a different cause every year.
