Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber Sells Picasso for Charity

The man who wrote the music for hit shows and movies like 'Cats', 'Evita' and, probably his best known work yet, 'The Phantom of the Opera' shows again that he has a big heart... and a bigger wallet to go with it.

Since 1995, Lord Webber has been in possession of 'Angel Fernandez de Soto' painting, from Picasso's so-called Blue Period that he bought for $19 million. It was then the largest sum paid for one painting in the last five years. Now, the composer announced that, on the 5th of November he will put it on sale at Christie's in New York, hoping that collectors from all over the world will bid for it.

Webber is thinking that the painting might be worth now around $33 million, money that he intends to give to his personal charitable foundation to distribute it to the promotion and encouraging of arts and young artists.

Collectors from everywhere are already speculating on this new act of generosity of Lord Webber and are actually praying that, driven by his need to help those in need, he will also sell the Canaletto, the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the Sir John William Waterhouse that figure among his foundation's priciest possessions.