Picasso Miniature Painting Reported Missing in Spain

A miniature gouache painting by Pablo Picasso has gone missing in Spain, according to CajaGranada Fundación, a cultural center and museum in Granada.

In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, the institution said that its staff discovered that Picasso’s “Naturaleza muerta con guitarra (Still life with a guitar)” (1919) was missing from a shipment of items for an upcoming exhibition. The painting, about the size of an iPhone SE at 5 by 3.9 inches (12.7 by 9.8 centimeters), had been expected by the museum from a private collection for its exhibition Bodegón: La eternidad de lo inerte (Still Life: The Eternity of the Inert), which opened on October 9.

However, when unpacking a delivery of works for the exhibition originating from Madrid on October 6, just three days before the exhibition’s opening, the institution said its curator and exhibition manager discovered that the Picasso painting, reportedly worth €600,000 (~$700,500), was not among the items.

A delivery company, the institution said, had arrived days earlier on October 3, and the packages sat over that weekend under video surveillance, which showed no disruption. The statement did not name the company.

At 10 am on October 3, the museum said its staff met a van carrying the works and instructed them to bring them inside in a single forklift transfer. The works were then moved from the van to a freight elevator into an area with video surveillance. According to the museum, the packages arrived improperly numbered, so a thorough check of the works was impossible without unpacking everything. Before the delivery employees left an hour and a half later, the museum said staff checked the provenance information on the packages, but did not verify the works physically before dismissing the individuals who delivered the packages.

The Spanish newspaper El País reported that two individuals were on board the van and stopped overnight not far from Granada. Nobody has been arrested yet, according to El País, and police are focused on determining at what point during the journey the work disappeared. It is unclear if the painting was initially confirmed to have been on the delivery van.

In its statement, CajaGranada Fundación said that it filed a report with Spain’s national police and will cooperate in the investigation. Hyperallergic has not yet heard back from the Policía Nacional.

Picasso’s work has long been targeted by thieves, including in a 2012 heist at a Dutch museum in which “Tête d’Arlequin” (1971) was swiped. In 2019, a French court found that the Spanish artist’s electrician and his wife had stolen 271 Picasso paintings and kept them hidden in their garage for 40 years.

“We have filed a report of the disappearance with the National Police; we have made all our resources available for the investigation, fully confident that the proceedings will proceed smoothly and resolve the case,” the museum said in its statement.