Raffle Offers Chance to Own a Picasso, Proceeds to Preserve Lebanese City

An online raffle is offering Picasso lovers a chance to own one of his original works for $135.

The work is titled "Man with Opera Hat." The 12-inch (30.5-centimeter) by 9-inch (23-centimeter) cubist drawing from 1914 is valued at about $1 million.

The raffle's proceeds will go toward the preservation of the ancient city of Tyre, Lebanon. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The raffle is being offered by The International Association to Save Tyre. The drawing will be held at Sotheby's auction house in Paris on Dec. 18. It'll be broadcast live on the Internet.

The $135 raffle ticket is available on www.1picasso100euros.com . Only 50,000 tickets will be sold.

The funds will help protect the ancient ruins and artifacts of the Phoenician port town.