Missing Masterpiece: Spanish Police Probe Disappearance Of Rs 6 Crore Picasso Painting En Route To Exhibition

Last Updated:October 16, 2025, 20:11 IST

The painting was part of a consignment of 57 artworks intended for the exhibition 'Still Life. The Eternity of the Inert', organised by the Caja Granada Foundation

Picasso's works are frequent targets for thieves due to their universal fame and high market value, with two of his paintings fetching over $140 million each at recent auctions. File image/Getty

Spanish National Police have launched an investigation into the alarming disappearance of a Pablo Picasso painting, identified as “Still Life with Guitar", while it was being transported for an exhibition. The oil-on-canvas work, valued at an estimated €600,000 (approximately $700,000 or Rs 6 crore), vanished in transit between Madrid and the southern city of Granada.

The painting was part of a consignment of 57 artworks intended for the exhibition “Still Life. The Eternity of the Inert", organised by the Caja Granada Foundation. The collection, comprising pieces from various private collections, was stored in Madrid on September 25 before being moved to Granada, where the foundation filed a police complaint on October 10 after realising the Picasso work had not arrived with the rest of the pieces. The intended exhibition at the Caja Granada Cultural Centre opened as scheduled, but without the key Picasso piece.

Picasso’s works are frequent targets for thieves due to their universal fame and high market value, with two of his paintings fetching over $140 million each at recent auctions. Past incidents, such as the 1976 theft of over 100 Picasso paintings from the Palais des Papes museum in France (all later recovered), underscore the artist’s enduring appeal to the black market.

The Spanish police are currently treating the disappearance as an ongoing criminal investigation. Authorities are working to determine the precise point at which the cubist master’s work was removed from the consignment. The theft is a significant blow to the Spanish art community and a stark reminder of the security risks involved in curating and transporting celebrated art from private collections for public display.

Pathikrit Sen Gupta

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via ...Read More

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via ...

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News world Missing Masterpiece: Spanish Police Probe Disappearance Of Rs 6 Crore Picasso Painting En Route To Exhibition

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