Andrew Lloyd Webber to Sell Picasso for Charity
Popular composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is planning to sell a Picasso masterpiece, with the profits going to charity. The painting is expected to bring in up to $33 million US.
Lloyd Webber bought the Spanish artist’s 1903 Blue Period portrait of close friend Angel Fernandez de Soto in 1995. The pricetag was $18 million.
Though he hasn’t decided on specific charities yet, Lloyd Webber said they’d include organizations benefitting theatre and the arts.
“The sale of my Picasso masterpiece may not be a Warren Buffett, but hopefully be a mini buffet,” said the musician.
“I am passionate about the training and education of young performers,” he added.
When the painting was purchased by the composer over a decade ago, he called it the “proudest moment of my life” and said the work was “mesmeric.”