When villagers in the Basque city of Guernica, gathered for their traditional marketplace activities on April 26, 1937, the sound of bells ringing in the church steeple was the only advance warning of a massive civilian air attack — the first in history — by Nazi Germany, working in partnership with General Francisco Franco, Spain’s eventual dictator (1939-1975).

The story of Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica, from its inspiration and creation in 1937 to its eventual arrival in Spain in 1981, is a worldwide journey that involves brutal dictatorships, the tragedy of civilian war casualties, the outrage at man’s inhumanity toward man, and the power of artistic creation as a profound force in communicating the messages of peace and respect for life.

From the simmering ashes and piles of rubble that remained of a fiercely independent village in Northern Spain during the Spanish Civil War, emerged the most profound antiwar statement in modern art history: Guernica by Spanish expatriate Pablo Picasso.

The Townhall in Guernica, prior to the Nazi civilian bombing.