Guernica arrived in September 1981. The arrangements to move it to Spain from New York were entirely made by the Ministry of Education. It was entirely a ministerial undertaking and the Museum was hardly responsible for anything. The only thing it did was lend the space of the Casón del Buen Retiro.
So, with the arrival of Guernica this “homely little museum” became a real museum with all its requirements: security measures, restoration studio, photography studio... The Casón changed overnight. From having almost no visitors it went to getting a tremendous avalanche. And more staff had to be employed. Above all, a lot of room warders arrived, people who are now in the Museum. From the time of the arrival of Guernica the Casón became completely incorporated into the structure of the Museo del Prado and started to function as another curatorial department even though we were in a different building.
She began working at the Library of the Department of 19th Century Painting, then becoming Conservator in 1987.
Interview recorded on February 21, 2018