Have you ever thought about what you would do if you suddenly had a Picasso? Ari Hodara didn’t either, but the Parisian engineer just won a painting by the Malaga genius in a charity draw called “A Picasso for 100 euros”, the proceeds of which went to finance research into Alzheimer’s disease. That was the amount that Hodara, an art lover, paid for a ticket, after finding out about the draw on television. And he never thought about it again. Until he received a call from a Christie’s producer announcing that he was now the happy owner of Woman’s Heada work by Picasso dated 1941 and inspired by his companion and muse Dora Maar.
After a moment of disbelief – “I donated the money, above all, for the cause, without ever imagining that I could actually win” – and still recovering from the surprise – “I was extremely surprised and, later, very moved when I realized that it was a portrait of Dora Maar painted by Picasso” -, Hodara now has a dilemma in front of her: what to do with a painting that is valued at more than one million euros?
Gouache on paper measuring 38.9 cm by 25.4 cm, the work remained in the possession of Picasso himself and his family for some time, then passed to a private collection. At the time of the draw, it was owned by the New York Opera Gallery, which gave it away for one million of the 12 million euros raised (the remaining 11 million went to the Fondation Recherche Alzheimer). “At first I think I’m going to take advantage and stay with him,” said Ari Hodara shortly after learning he had won. But if the engineer is thinking of just hanging Woman’s Head on a wall in your living room, it may not be that simple.
“If there weren’t all the insurance requirements and alarm systems, I would love to display it in my home”, admitted Hodara, after thinking more about the matter and aware that the whole world now knows his identity. Including the best art thieves. And he didn’t rule out the hypothesis that seems simpler: selling. Lending the work to a museum is also another possible alternative. That’s what the winners of the two previous editions of this art lottery, a 25-year-old American and a 58-year-old Italian accountant, ended up doing.
For now, the painting is still at customs and the official delivery, complete with ceremony and everything, is scheduled for a week from now. In addition to offering its services to help with the procedures, Christie’s has already made its safes available to store it for as long as necessary.
Hodara, as for him, confesses that he will still reflect on what to do: “I still have time to think about it”.
Leave a Reply