A valuable work on paper by Pablo Picasso, titled *Still Life with Guitar* (1919), has gone missing during transport from Madrid to Granada, Spain. The piece, insured for €600,000 (around $700,000), was part of a shipment of 57 artworks destined for the exhibition 'Still Life. The Eternity of the Inert' at the CajaGranada Cultural Center. The vehicle made an unexplained overnight stop less than 20 miles from its destination, and despite video surveillance at the delivery site, the Picasso was discovered missing during a Monday inventory. Police are investigating the presumed theft, and no arrests have been made.
This incident highlights persistent vulnerabilities in the transport of high-value artworks, even over short distances within the same country. The disappearance of a major Picasso piece raises questions about security protocols for art logistics, particularly the decision to make an unnecessary overnight stop and the lack of proper packaging numbering. The case also underscores the challenges of provenance and insurance in the art world, as the work belongs to an unnamed private collector and remains unaccounted for after nearly two weeks.