Engineer and art enthusiast, what Ari Hodara has experienced in the past few hours is unbelievable. On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in fact, responding to a video call from Christie’s auction house in Paris, the 58-year-old discovered that he had become the new owner of an important Picasso painting.
The work, worth more than 1 million euros, was in fact won by the man at a charity auction for which the ticket cost about 100 euros. In fact, as reported by the BBC, organizers said that, for the price of the above-mentioned 100 euros each, more than 120,000 tickets would be sold in the prize draw, raising about 11 million euros for Alzheimer’s research.
“How do I know it’s not a joke?” allegedly stated Ari Hodara responding to the video call. “I was surprised, that’s all,” he later added, “When you bet on something like this, you don’t expect to win…. But I’m very happy because I’m very passionate about painting, and this is great news for me.”
The third edition of the charity raffle established in 2013 and titled “1 Picasso for 100 euros,” this year’s prize was awarded to Tête de Femme, a portrait created by Picasso and depicting French surrealist artist Dora Maar, his companion and muse.
“This Picasso initiative is another key piece in ensuring that one day Alzheimer’s will be nothing more than a bad memory,” said the president of the French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, Olivier de Ladoucette, according to AFP reports, while French journalist Peri Cochin, organizer of the raffle with the support of Picasso’s family and foundation, said the fact that the winner is a Paris resident is a “fantastic thing.”
Hodara’s ticket, the BBC reports, was number 94,715, and the man said he purchased it over the weekend after discovering by chance the existence of the contest.
[📷 1picasso100euros.com]
