Image: Musée National Picasso-Paris / Public Domain
View source →Cat Catching a Bird
Pablo Picasso, 1939
Technical Details
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
81 × 100 cm (31.9 × 39.4 in)
Style
Expressionism
Decade
1930s
About This Work
Cat Catching a Bird depicts a ferocious cat sinking its teeth into a struggling bird, the violence of the encounter rendered with an intensity that goes far beyond a simple animal scene. The cat's eyes are wide with predatory excitement; the bird's wings beat helplessly. The painting is widely interpreted as an allegory of fascist aggression — painted in April 1939, just after the fall of Madrid and the end of the Spanish Civil War.
Painted in April 1939, Cat Catching a Bird belongs to a series of animal paintings that Picasso made in the late 1930s as indirect responses to the Spanish Civil War and the rise of fascism. The cat as predator and the bird as victim can be read as symbols of the fascist powers and their victims.
Current Location
Musée National Picasso-Paris, Paris, France
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
$30–50 million (est.)
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
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