October 2023

Reina Sofía Museum Lifts Ban on Photography of Picasso’s ‘Guernica.’ The ban on photographing Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece, Guernica (1937), has been lifted by the Reina Sofía Museum’s new director, Manuel Segade. This restriction, in place for over 30 years, was lifted at the beginning of September 2023. Guernica, depicting the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, was acquired by the Spanish Republic in 1937 and spent World War II at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, returning to Spain in 1981. It resided at the Prado Museum until 1992 when it moved to the Reina Sofía. Museum officials hope that lifting the ban will enhance the flow of traffic within the institution and attract a younger audience. Notably, last summer, Mick Jagger had a private viewing of Guernica during the museum’s closure and was allowed to take a photograph. The debate over visitor photography has raged for decades, with concerns about potential damage to artworks and the argument that it doesn’t substitute for the firsthand experience of viewing the pieces.