Photo: WENN / Fernand Leger
Madonna pocketed a tidy $7million from the sale of a painting by Fernand Leger - and promptly gave the proceeds away to charity.
The 'Material Girl' singer bought the 1921 painting, named Trois Femmes à la Table Rouge, in 1990 - and is donating the profits from the sale to female education projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where girls don't go to school.
The money is going to go to the Ray of Light Foundation, a non-profit organisation offering vocational training for street children and poor farmers.
"I have a great passion for art and a great passion for education. In conjunction with Sotheby's, I would like to share these two passions," Madonna said in a statement.
I have chosen to auction this painting called Three Women by Fernand Léger and donate all the proceeds to support girls' educational projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where female education is rare or nonexistent.
"I cannot accept a world where women or girls are wounded, shot or killed for either going to school or teaching in girls' schools "We don't have time to be complacent. I want to trade something valuable for something invaluable - educating girls!"
A detail from Fernand Léger's Trois Femmes à la Table Rouge
The painting went on sale at Sotheby's in New York and was bought by an anonymous buyer for $7.2million - or £4.6million.
The star has always shown an interest in female education, and previously set up the Raising Malawi charity after adopting son David Banda in 2006 and daughter Mercy James in 2009. She is currently working on building ten schools in Malawi, although she has come under fire from the president due to controversy.
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