Scam? Oh no, it’s a Picasso worth €1mn

Most people buy raffle tickets and win a toaster, maybe a gift hamper if lucky. But, in Paris, 59-year-old software engineer Ari Hodara bought one—and walked away with a €1 million (approx Rs10.8 Crore) Picasso. Yes, an actual Tête de Femme. Not bad for a €100 gamble. Because if someone calls to say you’ve won a Picasso, your first instinct is not “wow,” it’s “who’s phishing me?”

‘Is this a hoax?’ (Fair question)

Hodara’s name was drawn from 120,000 entries at Christie’s in Paris as part of the ‘1 Picasso for 100 euros’ raffle. The prize? Tête de Femme by Pablo Picasso. His reaction? Immediate suspicion. “How can I check this isn’t a hoax?” he asked raffle organiser Péri Cochin, as reported by People. Even after the call, the disbelief lingered as the first thought was “it’s fake, it’s phishing,” he told CNN, adding, “I never thought I’d own a Picasso. It’s not within my means.”

Jackpot for a cause

This year’s prize, Tête de Femme, carries Picasso’s signature grey, white and cream palettereflecting a sombre wartime mood, but with a hint of hope, according to his grandson Olivier Widmaier Picasso. While Hodara gets the painting, the real jackpot might be the cause. Around €11 million from the raffle will go to Fondation Recherche Alzheimer to fund Alzheimer’s research. Another €1 million goes to Opera Gallery, the current owner of the artwork. Sometimes, luck shows up quietly disguised as a €100 ticket and leaves you with a Picasso on your wall.

This isn’t the raffle’s first feel-good flex

The first edition in 2013 raised €4.8 million and awarded Picasso’s The Man in the Opera Hat to 25-year-old American Jeffrey Gonano, with proceeds going toward preserving the UNESCO-listed Lebanese city of Tyre. In 2020, an Italian woman won Picasso’s still life Nature Morte with a Christmas gift ticket she bought for her son, with funds supporting sanitation projects in Cameroon, Madagascar and Morocco.


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