Podcast reveals early 20th-century Spanish art exodus to America

The second episode of 'La memoria en ruinas', a podcast about Spanish heritage at risk of disappearing, has been released. Hosts José María Sadia and Andrea Morán explore how Spain functioned as an auction house in the early 20th century. Art commerce expert María José Martínez Ruiz details how antique dealers and international agents transported Spanish artistic treasures to American magnates like William Randolph Hearst and prestigious museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The episode questions whether these treasures were stolen or sold by Spain itself. Journalists also investigate a site that experienced one of the most painful episodes of plunder—or self-plunder—in art history, with insights from Joan Molina.