Ari Hodara, a 58-year-old Parisian engineer, won an original Picasso painting worth over €1 million in a charity raffle, according to multiple reports. The raffle ticket cost €100, as confirmed by several media outlets. The painting is a portrait of Dora Maar titled 'Tête de femme' ('Head of a Woman'), a gouache painted in 1941, according to major media.
It came from the Opera gallery, a private art dealer, as reported by the same sources. 45 million, according to major media. The exact current market value of the Picasso painting 'Tête de femme' remains uncertain.
The Alzheimer's Research Foundation, based at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, organized the charity raffle, according to major media. The raffle sold 120,000 tickets, multiple reports indicate. It raised €12 million total, according to major media.
How do I know this isn't a joke?
Ticket buyers came from 52 countries, as reported by the same sources. How many tickets were sold specifically for this raffle versus the total mentioned is not detailed in available reports. €1 million of the €12 million raised will go to the Opera gallery, according to major media.
The remaining €11 million will be donated to Alzheimer's research, multiple reports confirm. The foundation claims to be France's leading private funder of medical research into Alzheimer's disease since its creation in 2004, according to major media. What specific Alzheimer's research projects will the €11 million fund has not been disclosed.
According to Euronews, Ari Hodara initially thought the win was a joke or scam. Péri Cochin, a French journalist and organizer, showed Hodara the artwork on a video call from Christie's to convince him, according to major media. Hodara is still deciding whether to keep or sell the painting, multiple reports indicate.
I'm going to break the news to my wife first, who isn't back from work yet. And in the first instance, I think I'm going to enjoy it and keep it.
The organizers held two similar raffles for Picasso works in 2013 and 2020, according to major media. The 2013 raffle winner was a 25-year-old American from Pennsylvania who won 'Man with an Opera Hat', a 1914 Cubist work, as reported by the same sources. The 2020 raffle winner was Claudia Borgogno, an accountant from Ventimiglia, Italy, who won 'Still Life', a 1921 oil on canvas, according to major media.
The 2020 painting was acquired from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, as reported by the same sources. The two previous raffles raised over €10 million for cultural projects in Lebanon and water/sanitation programs in Africa, according to major media. The raffle was broadcast live by Christie's auction house, according to major media.
When exactly the raffle draw took place is not specified in the available information. The legal or regulatory framework for such high-value charity raffles in France remains unclear.