The 100 best paintings in New York: The Hispanic Society of America

Rank: 4

Back before there were proper tabloids in supermarket checkout lines, it was much more difficult to track celebrity liaisons. Still, if you look closely at Goya’s The Duchess of Alba—known to her friends as Doña María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva-Álvarez de Toledo y Silva—the painting has more rumor and innuendo in it than a copy of In Touch Weekly. Recognized as a great beauty in her day, and also as one of the richest women in Spain, the duchess was a fixation for the artist. Want proof? Check out the sand at her feet. It reads solo goya. And if you look closely at the Duchess’s rings, they read alba and goya, sparking rumors about romantic ties.—Drew Toal

Photograph: Courtesy the Hispanic Society of America