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Parisian art enthusiast Ari Hodara won an original Pablo Picasso painting worth more than €1 million ($1.18 million) after purchasing a €100 raffle ticket.
Organizers selected Hodara during a livestreamed draw at Christie’s auction house in Paris on Tuesday.
The 58-year-old sales engineer bought his ticket just days before the event after hearing about the charity raffle by chance while dining at a restaurant.
“How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” Hodara asked when organizers contacted him via video call.
He later told auctioneers that while one does not expect to win such a bet, he is very happy, as he is very interested in painting.
Hodara plans to keep the artwork for now and intends to share the news with his wife upon her return from work.
The lottery, titled “1 Picasso for €100,” sold 120,000 tickets to participants across 52 countries.
The initiative raised €12 million in total. While €1 million will go to the Opera Gallery to cover the cost of the painting, the remaining €11 million will benefit the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (Fondation Recherche Alzheimer).
Gilles Dyan, founder of the Opera Gallery, noted that he offered a preferential price for the work, which has a public valuation of €1.45 million.
Olivier de Ladoucette, head of the foundation, emphasized the importance of the funds, stating that research funding remains “ridiculous” despite Alzheimer's being a major public health issue.
“This Picasso initiative is one more building block so that one day Alzheimer’s will be nothing more than a bad memory,” de Ladoucette said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The winning prize is a 1941 gouache-on-paper titled "Tête de femme" (Head of a Woman).
It depicts Dora Maar, the French surrealist artist who served as Picasso’s longtime partner and muse. The portrait features a palette of inky grey, white, and blue tones.
Olivier Widmaier Picasso, the artist's grandson, suggested that the work reflects the somber mood of the wartime period while offering a sense of hope.
French journalist Peri Cochin launched the raffle in 2013 with support from the Picasso family and foundation.
This year marks the third iteration of the event, which combines high-value art acquisition with large-scale fundraising.
Organizers noted that having a winner based in Paris is a happy coincidence, as it simplifies the delivery of the masterpiece.
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