A Parisian art enthusiast, Ari Hodara, was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had won a Pablo Picasso painting valued at over $1 million in a charity raffle hosted by Christie’s auction house. Hodara, a 58-year-old sales engineer and self-proclaimed Picasso admirer, purchased a ticket for the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery on a whim after stumbling upon the raffle details while dining at a restaurant.
The painting up for grabs in this third iteration of the raffle was Picasso’s Head of a Woman, a 1941 portrait of Dora Maar, Picasso’s longtime muse. The online draw, which offered the opportunity to win a piece by the renowned Spanish artist, aimed to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research.
With all 120,000 tickets sold globally, generating 12 million euros in revenue, Hodara’s winning ticket was randomly selected. One million euros from the proceeds will be donated to the Opera Gallery, the art dealership that possessed the painting. The gallery’s founder, Gilles Dyan, disclosed that the public price of the painting was 1.45 million euros.
This charity initiative, organized by the Alzheimer Research Foundation, has a history of successful Picasso raffles, having raised over 10 million euros in previous editions to support various cultural and humanitarian causes. The foundation, established in 2004 at a prominent Paris hospital, has become a key contributor to Alzheimer’s medical research in France.
Notably, the first raffle in 2013 awarded a Picasso painting to a Pennsylvania man, while the 2020 raffle winner was an Italian accountant. These raffles have attracted attention for their unique approach to fundraising and art appreciation.