A man has won an original Pablo Picasso painting worth more than €1m (£870,000; $1.2m) in a charity raffle. Ari Hodara, an engineer and art enthusiast, learned he was the winner on Tuesday when he answered a video call from Christie's auction house in Paris. How do I know this isn't a prank? the 58-year-old asked when told he was the new owner of the 1941 work by the Spanish master.
Organisers stated they sold more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw at €100 (£87; $118) each, raising around €11m (£10m; $13m) for Alzheimer's research. This year's prize was Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman), a gouache-on-paper portrait painted in Picasso's signature style, depicting his partner and muse, Dora Maar. I was surprised, that's it, said Hodara following the draw. When you bet on this, you don't expect to win... But I'm very happy because I'm very interested in painting, and it's great news for me.
Hodara's ticket, number 94,715, was purchased over the weekend after he encountered the competition by chance. French journalist Peri Cochin organised the raffle, with backing from Picasso's family and foundation. She expressed happiness that the winner lived in Paris, making delivery of the painting feasible. Of the money raised, €1m is allocated to the painting's owner, the Opera Gallery, with the remaining funds directed to France's Alzheimer's Research Foundation. Peri Cochin emphasized the initiative's role in combating Alzheimer's, while the foundation's head remarked that it represents a collective effort to combat the disease.
Organisers stated they sold more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw at €100 (£87; $118) each, raising around €11m (£10m; $13m) for Alzheimer's research. This year's prize was Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman), a gouache-on-paper portrait painted in Picasso's signature style, depicting his partner and muse, Dora Maar. I was surprised, that's it, said Hodara following the draw. When you bet on this, you don't expect to win... But I'm very happy because I'm very interested in painting, and it's great news for me.
Hodara's ticket, number 94,715, was purchased over the weekend after he encountered the competition by chance. French journalist Peri Cochin organised the raffle, with backing from Picasso's family and foundation. She expressed happiness that the winner lived in Paris, making delivery of the painting feasible. Of the money raised, €1m is allocated to the painting's owner, the Opera Gallery, with the remaining funds directed to France's Alzheimer's Research Foundation. Peri Cochin emphasized the initiative's role in combating Alzheimer's, while the foundation's head remarked that it represents a collective effort to combat the disease.
