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Parisian Sales Engineer Wins €1 Million Picasso Painting in Charity Raffle

15 April, 2026.Entertainment.17 sources

Key Takeaways

Ari Hodara, a Parisian sales engineer, won a Picasso valued at about €1 million.
Over 120,000 €100 tickets sold globally; draw held at Christie's Paris.
The work is a 1941 Picasso gouache on paper depicting Dora Maar.

Picasso Raffle Winner

Ari Hodara won an original Picasso painting worth more than €1 million after purchasing a €100 raffle ticket.

“France raffle offers $1M Picasso for a 100 euro ticket to raise money for charity A raffle in France offers a chance to win a $1 million Picasso painting for just 100 euros, or $117 PARIS -- In a few hours, one lucky winner will find themselves the owner of a Pablo Picasso painting for less than $120”

ABC News

The raffle sold all 120,000 tickets, raising approximately €12 million.

ABC News

Hodara was stunned and asked how he could be sure it wasn't a prank.

The painting is a 1941 portrait of Picasso's partner Dora Maar.

The Opera Gallery will receive €1 million, with the rest going to Alzheimer's research.

Raffle History and Impact

The raffle was founded in 2013 and has held three editions.

The first winner was a 25-year-old American from Pennsylvania.

BBC

The second was an Italian accountant in 2020.

Together, previous raffles raised more than €10 million.

The Alzheimer Research Foundation is France's largest private funder of Alzheimer's research.

Public Reaction and Future

Hodara planned to keep the painting.

“Ari Hodara, a 59-year-old sales engineer from Paris, is walking away with Pablo Picasso’s “Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman),” valued at approximately $1 million, just days after purchasing a $117 raffle ticket”