The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, created by the theatre impresario behind Cats and Phantom of the Opera, is donating nearly £32 million ($50.5 million Cdn) to British arts groups.
The funding is directed at arts programs that make a "significant contribution to many people's lives." Established in 1982, Lloyd Webber Foundation's objective is to promote the arts, culture and heritage for the public benefit.
The money for the new donations came from the approximately $54 million Cdn. sale ofPablo Picasso's 1903 painting Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto (Absinthe Drinker) in June 2010. Lloyd Webber had owned the painting for 25 years.