Image: Image reproduction rights managed by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; institutional source link provided
View source →Pablo Picasso, 1937
Medium
etching, sugar-lift aquatint, and chine collé on wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 31 x 41.8 cm (12 3/16 x 16 7/16 in.); Plate: 31.5 x 42.2 cm (12 3/8 x 16 5/8 in.); Sheet: 37.8 x 57 cm (14 7/8 x 22 7/16 in.)
Style
Wartime modernism
Decade
1930s
The official Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio record identifies Dream and Lie of Franco I: (January 8, 1937) as a Pablo Picasso artwork, dated 1937, in etching, sugar-lift aquatint, and chine collé on wove paper. This two-page, viciously satirical response to the Spanish civil war is among the most politically motivated works in Picasso’s career. The prints were sold in a limited edition of 1,000 copies at the Spanish Pavilion of the Paris Universal Exposition to raise money for the Spanish refugee relief campaign. Since the printing process reversed the images, the frames should be read from the upper right to the lower left. Here Picasso portrayed General Francisco Franco as a deformed monster, crusading in a ship, smashing art, disguising himself as a woman, praying, killing, and creating overall havoc and mayhem.
Dream and Lie of Franco I: (January 8, 1937) is grouped here under Wartime Period for gallery navigation based on the date published by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. This period label is interpretive context, not a replacement for the cited primary object record. The holding collection is documented by the cited institutional source.
2026 Estimated Value
Public collection / market value not asserted
* 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
Continue Exploring
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
Dream and Lie of Franco II: January 9, 1937
1937 · same style · same era
Dream and Lie of Franco
1937 · same style · same era
Dream and Lie of Franco: Cover Design
1937 · same style · same era
Bull Skull, Fruit, Pitcher
1939 · same style · same era
Man with a Lollipop
1938 · same style · same era
Dora Maar in an Armchair
1939 · same style · same era
If you love this wartime period masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece That Changed the World
The story behind one of Picasso's most iconic and political works
Guernica Print Poster
Museum-quality reproduction of Picasso's most famous anti-war painting
Picasso: The Man Who Changed Art
Documentary examining Picasso's revolutionary impact on modern art
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Each product link is unique to help us track which recommendations resonate most with our visitors.