The Reina Sofía did not explain the origins of the ban on photographing one specific painting, but museums have long struggled with how best to conserve artworks and manage resources while trying to remain relevant to the public. For example, visitors cannot take photos inside the Sistine Chapel in Italy, and photography and filming are prohibited in some special exhibitions at museums because of copyright or lending concerns. That worry has abated, she said, but there is still genuine fear that works could be damaged by distracted visitors, and that their photographs could fundamentally alter museum programming. But the painting, which Picasso lent to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for decades while Gen. Francisco Franco was in power in Spain, has not always been so restricted. When it was on view at MoMA in 1974, Tony Shafrazi, an artist who later became a successful art dealer, sprayed “Kill Lies All” in red foot-high letters on the canvas.

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Persons: Reina Sofía, Nina Simon, ”, ” Simon, Picasso, Francisco Franco, Tony Shafrazi Organizations: Participatory Museum, Museum of Modern Art Locations: Italy, New York, Spain