A small gouache artwork by Pablo Picasso has reportedly gone missing in Spain, as stated by CajaGranada Fundación, a museum and cultural center in Granada.
In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, the institution revealed that staff noticed the absence of Picasso’s “Naturaleza muerta con guitarra (Still Life With a Guitar)” (1919) from a batch of artworks prepared for an upcoming exhibition. The piece, approximately the size of an iPhone SE measuring 5 by 3.9 inches (12.7 by 9.8 centimeters), was set to be loaned to the museum for its exhibition Bodegón: La eternidad de lo inerte (Still Life: The Eternity of the Inert), which commenced on October 9.
When the staff began unpacking a shipment of items arriving from Madrid on October 6—just three days before the exhibition’s opening—their curator and exhibition manager found that the Picasso painting, estimated to be valued at €600,000 (~$700,500), was missing.
The museum noted that a delivery service had dropped off the packages a few days earlier, on October 3, and those packages were placed under video surveillance throughout that weekend, which showed no disturbances. The statement did not disclose the name of the delivery company.
On the morning of October 3, the museum’s team engaged with a van delivering the works and instructed a single forklift transfer to bring everything inside. The artworks were then moved from the van to a freight elevator in a monitored area. The museum reported that because the packages arrived with incorrect numbering, they couldn’t be thoroughly verified without opening each one. Although provenance information was checked before the delivery personnel left an hour and a half later, the physical verification of the artworks was not conducted prior to their departure.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, two individuals were in the delivery van and made an overnight stop not far from Granada. There have been no arrests so far, as police continue their investigation to ascertain when the artwork disappeared during transit. It remains unclear whether the painting was ever confirmed to be on the van.
CajaGranada Fundación has filed a report with Spain’s national police and is fully cooperating with the investigation. Hyperallergic is awaiting a response from the Policía Nacional.
Throughout history, Picasso’s artworks have been a target for theft; notable incidents include a 2012 robbery at a Dutch museum, where “Tête d’Arlequin” (1971) was taken. More recently, in 2019, a French court identified that an electrician had stolen 271 pieces by Picasso, keeping them concealed in his garage for four decades.
“We’ve reported the disappearance to the National Police and have committed all our resources to assist with the investigation, and we are hopeful for a smooth resolution to this case,” stated the museum in their announcement.
Isa Farfan is a staff reporter for Hyperallergic. She graduated from Barnard College in May 2024, majoring in Political Science and English, and served as the Arts & Culture editor for the Columbia Daily Spectator.
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