Man left stunned after winning Picasso painting in raffle

A Parisian man could not believe his luck when he found out he had won a Pablo Picasso painting worth one million dollars (£736,000) with a 117 dollar (£86) raffle ticket.

“How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” said Ari Hodara, 58, after organisers called him following the draw at Christie’s auction house in the French capital.

Mr Hodara described himself as an art amateur fond of Picasso and said he bought his ticket over the weekend after finding out about the charity raffle by chance during a meal in a restaurant.

“First, I will tell the news to my wife, who has yet to return from work,” said Mr Hodara, a sales engineer. “And at first, I think I’ll take advantage of it and keep it.”

The third iteration of the “One Picasso for 100 euros” lottery was for Picasso’s Head Of A Woman, a portrait of Picasso’s longtime muse and partner Dora Maar. It was painted by the artist in 1941.

The online draw offered the chance to win a portrait by the Spanish artist in aid of Alzheimer’s research.

Organisers said all 120,000 tickets were sold worldwide.