The Disasters of War
In 2013, the severe reduction of the grants from the city of Madrid under the 2008–2012 Spanish financial crisis threatened bankruptcy for the Ateneo. The Ateneo council tried to cover the losses by auctioning works of art, either donated by sympathetic artists or part of the historic heritage. The Regional Heritage Council of Madrid forbade the sale of an 1855 collection of engravings ("The Disasters of War" and "Los Caprichos") by Francisco de Goya. What the regional council allowed to auction includes 14 works by Antonio López, Eusebio Sempere, Josep Guinovart, José Moreno Villa, Alberto Corazón and Carmen Laffon, that earned the Ateneo 140,000 euros.