PARIS — An art lover from France is glad he invested 100 euros. He now owns a painting by Pablo Picasso that is valued at more than $1 million.
“How do I know this isn’t a prank?” Ari Hodara, 58, of Paris, asked when he learned he was the new owner of Spanish master’s 1941 painting, “Tête de Femme” (“Head of a Woman”), the BBC reported.
Hodara had entered the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” auction, CNN reported.
Organizers said more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw were sold at €100 (approximately $117 in U.S. funds), with proceeds used for Alzheimer’s research, according to the news outlet.
The draw was held at Christie’s auction house in Paris, The Associated Press reported. It was the third edition of the raffle, which was founded in 2013, according to the BBC.
Hodara, who sells software, said he was skeptical when he received a telephone call from Péri Cochin, one of the raffle’s organizers, according to CNN.
“When (Cochin) called I thought it was fake, it was phishing,” Hodara told CNN on Wednesday.
Cochin called during the livestreamed event and switched to a video call that showed Hodara the audience.
The raffle netted 12 million euros, or approximately $14 million in U.S. currency, the AP reported. Raffle organizers said that 1 million euros will be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owned the painting, according to the news organization.
In 2013, the first raffle was won by a Pennsylvania man who worked at a fire-sprinkler business, the AP reported. He won the 1914 painting, the Cubist-inspired “Man in the Opera Hat.”
In 2020, Claudia Borgogno, an accountant from Italy, won Picasso’s oil-on-canvas work, “Still Life.” Her son had bought her what turned out to be the winning raffle ticket as a Christmas gift, according to the AP.
Hodara told auctioneers in a phone call after the raffle that he was surprised to win.
“When you bet on this, you don’t expect to win,” he said, according to the BBC. “But I’m very happy because I’m very interested in painting, and it’s great news for me.”
Cochin said it was a “great thing” that the winner lived in Paris, even though tickets were sold abroad, the BBC reported.
“It’s going to be very easy for us to deliver the painting, so we’re happy,” she said.
Hodara is pleased, too.
“Can you be unhappy about winning a Picasso? No, I don’t think so,” Hodara told CNN.
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