Paris Charity Raffle: Engineer Wins Picasso Original for 100 Euros

Paris, April 14 (CNA) A Parisian engineer who loves art today won a painting by Spanish master Picasso, valued at over 1 million euros (approximately NT$37.3 million), in a charity raffle.

Agence France-Presse reported that the 58-year-old lucky winner, Ari Hodara, had only bought a lottery ticket last weekend and was drawn in a live broadcast ceremony at Christie's auction house. All funds raised from this event will be donated to Alzheimer's research.

The prize for this raffle was a portrait of Dora Maar, one of Picasso's muses. This gray and blue gouache painting, titled "Tete de femme" (Head of a Woman), was created in 1941 and was purchased from the private art dealer "Opera Gallery."

Although the official valuation of this painting at the time of the raffle was 1 million euros, experts and the Opera Gallery both stated that, considering its importance, its actual value might be higher.

When Hodara received the winning call from the auction house, he asked in disbelief, "How do I know this isn't a prank?"

The organizers were led by French journalist Peri Cochin and supported by the Picasso family and foundation. They had previously held two similar Picasso artwork raffles in 2013 and 2020.

The winner of the first edition was a 25-year-old American from Pennsylvania, and the second edition was won by an accountant from Ventimiglia in northwestern Italy, whose ticket was a Christmas gift from her son.

According to the BBC, the organizers stated that this raffle sold over 120,000 tickets, each priced at 100 euros, raising approximately 11 million euros for Alzheimer's research.

Olivier de Ladoucette, head of the foundation organizing this event, said today: "Research funding is pitifully small. In our developed society, we still don't realize that this is a major public health issue that absolutely requires everyone's participation."

He added: "This Picasso initiative is another cornerstone, hoping that one day Alzheimer's will only be a bad memory." (Compiler: Li Pei-shan) 1150415