Spanish police have recovered a missing painting by Pablo Picasso—the 1919 gouache and pencil piece titled Still Life with Guitar—after it disappeared earlier in October while being prepared for an exhibition in Granada. The small artwork, valued at around €600,000, was supposed to be transported from Madrid to the exhibition at the CajaGranada Foundation’s “Still Life: The Eternity of the Inert” show. The disappearance was officially reported on October 10, after curators noticed that one painting was missing when the crates were opened in Granada on October 6.
Investigators from the National Police’s Historical Heritage Brigade and the Scientific Police inspected the recovered package in Madrid, but authorities have disclosed very few details about the recovery or how the painting ended up where it did. According to reports, the painting may never have been loaded onto the transport van—rather, it was left behind in the doorway of a building in Madrid where a neighbour mistakenly took it, thinking it was an abandoned parcel.
The incident has raised fresh questions about protocols for handling high-value art during transit, including issues such as inadequate crate numbering, gaps in the chain of custody, and reliance on video surveillance alone. The outing of such a renowned work reflects the persistent vulnerability of major-art logistics and underscores the importance of tighter controls. Meanwhile, the painting is expected to return to display—once the investigation run by the Heritage Brigade concludes—for the Granada exhibition to carry the full roster of works originally intended.
