Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937), considered one of the Spanish artist’s masterpieces, might travel to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 2026. This week, Catalan-language newspaper Ara reported that the Basque regional government petitioned Spain’s Ministry of Culture to authorize a loan for the painting, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica, or in Basque, Gernika. If approved, it would be the first time the painting has left Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid since 1992.
The Basque government’s proposal calls for Guernica to be on view at the Guggenheim from October 2026 to June 2027. The head of the regional government, Imanol Pradales, told Ara that featuring the painting would act as “a formula for symbolic reparation and historical memory” for the Basque people. Meanwhile, the Basque leader underscored that it would be a “message to the world” about “what war entails and the atrocity that derives from dictatorships.”
Picasso painted Guernica in 1937 following the Nazi and Italian fascist bombing of the Basque city; Spanish Nationalist general Francisco Franco requested the offensive from his allies during the Spanish Civil War. The 11-by-25-foot canvas is a vehement anti-war statement. It captures the horrors of the bombing as it depicts screaming figures and fractured animals in the artist’s signature Cubist style. Picasso unveiled the painting at the World’s Fair that same year. It then lived in the Museum of Modern Art from 1939 to 1981, as Picasso requested that the painting not return to Spain until Franco’s dictatorship ended. Before it was housed at the Reina Sofía, the painting hung at the Prado Museum for 11 years.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao requested the painting to be moved once before, in 1997, for its opening. Additionally, Barcelona’s municipal government once asked for its transfer. However, the museum has repeatedly refused to move the painting. Last Thursday, the Reina Sofia released a statement about conservation concerns, noting that transferring is “strongly discouraged,” as reported by Ara.
The Guernica transfer request carries political undertones. Two Basque nationalist parties have raised the Guernica move with the Spanish government. Both parties support Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s current administration; the politician might lose crucial votes if he does not support their campaign. Basque government councilor Ibone Bengoetxea told Ara that the decision is “not technical” but rather a “political decision.”
