A tiny Picasso painting valued at $700,000 has gone missing in Spain after vanishing somewhere between Madrid and Granada. Police have launched an investigation to find the 1919 artwork, which measures just five inches tall.
The missing piece, titled Still Life with Guitar, was meant to appear in an exhibition at the CajaGranada Cultural Center. Similar Picasso works have been stolen and later recovered in countries like Greece and Belgium, where daring art heists have made headlines in recent years.
Police investigating disappearance of ‘Still Life with Guitar’
According to officials, the painting was shipped by a transport company and delivered to the Granada gallery ahead of the exhibition’s October 9 opening. All artwork was moved directly from the van to a freight elevator under continuous video surveillance. Staff verified the packages, which remained sealed over the weekend.
When curators began unpacking the crates Monday morning, Still Life with Guitar — known in Spanish as Naturaleza muerta con guitarra — was nowhere to be found. Security footage reportedly shows no tampering, and no incidents were recorded during transit or storage.
Granada police confirmed the artwork has been added to the international database of stolen art but said no international cooperation is currently active. The CajaGranada Foundation, which owns the cultural center, said the painting’s disappearance remains “under investigation.”
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