Man wins $1.2M Picasso painting in $118 charity raffle

A man has won an original Pablo Picasso painting worth more than $1.2m in a charity raffle, the BBC writes.

Ari Hodara, an engineer and art enthusiast, learned he was the winner on Tuesday when he answered a video call from Christie’s auction house in Paris.

“How do I know this isn’t a prank?” the 58-year-old asked when he was told he was the new owner of the 1941 work by the Spanish master.

Organizers said more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw were sold at $118 each, raising around $13m for Alzheimer’s research.

The draw was the third edition of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” fundraising raffle, which was founded in 2013.

This year’s prize was Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman), a gouache-on-paper portrait rendered in Picasso’s signature style. It depicts his partner and muse, the French surrealist artist Dora Maar.