A 58-year-old commercial engineer from Paris won the international raffle “A Picasso for 100 euros” in support of Alzheimer’s disease research. The winner, a Parisian commercial engineer of 58 years, won on Tuesday, April 14, the international raffle “A Picasso for 100 euros” in support of Alzheimer’s disease research. The draw was held live on YouTube on Tuesday evening in the salons of Christie’s auction house in Paris under the supervision of a bailiff.
This charity raffle was launched at the beginning of December in Paris, with the support of the Picasso administration bringing together the painter’s heirs. The 120,000 tickets – priced at 100 euros each – were sold online in less than four months, in 152 countries. The last ticket was purchased on Tuesday morning.
The winner bought ticket number 94715 over the weekend after learning about the raffle on a continuous news channel and during the program “Quelle époque!” Saturday night on France 2, said Ari Hodora, reached by phone.
12 million euros raised The Picasso work is a portrait of Dora Maar, painted by the artist in 1941 during World War II. Entitled “Head of a woman,” this gouache on paper measures 38.9 cm by 25.4 cm, and was estimated at 1.45 million euros. Kept for a time by Pablo Picasso and the family, this painting then joined a private collection before returning to the market in New York and more recently in Zurich.
The raffle raised 12 million euros (before the acquisition of the painting) for the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation for its scientific programs in France and abroad, benefiting European, American, and Canadian teams.
By 2050, the number of people affected by this degenerative disease could double, according to projections from the World Health Organization. In 2013 and 2020, these charity raffles, initiated by producer Péri Cochin, awarded two first pieces of the Spanish master who spent most of his life in France.
The first edition raised around 5 million euros to renovate Tyre, a Lebanese city classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2020, 5.1 million euros were raised for the NGO Care for water and hygiene access programs in vulnerable regions. In both cases, the winning paintings were placed on display at Christie’s due to security constraints required by insurance companies.
