Engineer Wins Picasso Masterpiece Valued at $1 Million Through $117 Raffle Ticket
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
TLDR
- Parisian engineer Ari Hodara won a Pablo Picasso painting valued at $1 million by purchasing a raffle ticket for $117.
- The artwork, "Head of a Woman" (1941), depicts Dora Maar, Picasso's muse and partner.
- The raffle, organized by Christie's, sold 120,000 tickets, raising $14 million, with proceeds supporting Alzheimer's research.
La Nación reports on an extraordinary stroke of luck for Ari Hodara, a 58-year-old Parisian engineer, who won a Pablo Picasso painting worth $1 million for the price of a $117 raffle ticket. The artwork, titled "Head of a Woman" and painted in 1941, is a portrait of Dora Maar, who was Picasso's muse and long-time partner.
Hodara expressed disbelief upon being contacted by the organizers after the draw in Paris. He described himself as an art enthusiast with a particular fondness for Picasso's work. He recalled purchasing the ticket casually over the weekend after learning about the raffle while dining at a restaurant.
The raffle, the third edition of "1 Picasso for 100 euros" organized by Christie's auction house, was conducted virtually. It offered participants worldwide the chance to win the valuable painting. According to organizers, 120,000 tickets were sold globally, generating $14 million. A significant portion of these funds, $1 million, will go to Opera Gallery, the international art firm that owned the painting, while the remainder will be dedicated to Alzheimer's disease research.
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When asked about his plans for the painting, Hodara indicated he would likely keep it for now. He shared that his wife was the first person he told about his incredible win. Gilles Dyan, founder of Opera Gallery, mentioned that the painting was offered at a preferential price, as its public market value was slightly over $1.5 million.
The article also provides context on previous "1 Picasso for 100 euros" raffles. In 2013, a man from Pennsylvania won "L'homme au chapeau" (Man with a Hat), painted by Picasso in 1914. In 2020, "Still Life" (1921) went to Claudia Borgogno, an Italian accountant, who received the ticket as a Christmas gift. The article notes that Picasso himself, who died in 1973, would likely have approved of his work being raffled. The report concludes by briefly mentioning a separate, unrelated art crime incident in Paris involving a jewel heist at the Louvre, highlighting the city's diverse relationship with high-value art.
In principle, I think I will enjoy it and keep it.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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