Woman wins $1 million Picasso in charity raffle

A woman in Italy has suddenly become the owner of a Pablo Picasso painting. Claudia Borgogno, 58, won the Picasso in a charity raffle. Her son Lorenzo bought his mother the ticket as a Christmas present. The ticket cost €100 (about $110). The raffle draw was made on Wednesday and Ms Borgogno was the lucky winner. Lorenzo explained to reporters how he told his mother. He said: "When I arrived and I told her she has won a Picasso painting, she was like: 'Please don't joke'." He added: "It was maybe the best decision I've made in my life." His mother could not believe she had won and summed up her amazement in one word - incredible. She said: "I have never won anything before".

The Picasso painting is called Still Life. It was painted and signed by the artist in 1921. It shows a newspaper and a wine glass on a wood table. The charity draw took place in Paris at the international auction house Christies. The auction house valued the work of art as being worth $1.1 million. However, the billionaire art collector who donated the painting to the charity raffle said it was worth at least two or three times more than that. Christies sold 51,140 tickets for the charity raffle. All of the money it collected will go to provide water for villagers in Madagascar and Cameroon. An NGO will help to build and repair wells, washing facilities, and toilets in countryside villages.