A million-US dollar drawing by Pablo Picasso was snapped up on Wednesday by a 25-year-old US art lover at a online charity raffle for a mere 100 euros (US$140).
Jeffrey Gonano said he had been looking for a picture to hang on his living room wall when he read a news article about L’Homme au Gibus (“Man with Opera Hat”), raffled by Sotheby’s in Paris.
“I was looking for art and I thought I might as well,” the project manager at a fire sprinkler firm said.
Photo: AFP
Despite the enormous value of his new acquisition, Gonano vowed not to sell the artwork, at least for the time being.
His winning ticket 747815 — picked by a computer system on Wednesday — was one of 50,000 put up for sale online at 100 euros each to raise funds for an association working to preserve the ancient city of Tyre, in modern-day Lebanon.
Organizers said that buyers from France and Germany to Iran and Kyrgyzstan had taken part, with a particularly large number of Americans.
The small drawing dates from 1914, during the artist’s Cubist phase, and was purchased by the Association to Save Tyre from a New York gallery with the help of a large bank loan.
Organizers say they paid slightly less for the work than the US$1 million estimate given by Sotheby’s experts.
The sale was given the green light by Picasso’s grandson Olivier Picasso, who said his grandfather would have been thrilled that his work was being put to good use.
“My grandfather was a pioneer in everything, in his love life, in his artwork, so tonight I’m sure he would have helped the cause,” he said.
For the moment the work’s new owner said he still could not believe his luck.
“I’m still in shock. I’ve never won anything like this before... Obviously,” he said.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS