The return of the exiles during the "liberal triennium" from 1820 to 1823 allowed the creation of the Spanish Athenæum, directed by Juan Manuel de los Rios.

Although the 36-year Spanish State of General Franco subsumed the Ateneo to the ideological goals of his Falange party,[1] the subsequent transition to democracy has enabled it to regain its position as a centre of culture of the first order.

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.

[2] 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.

The building, designed by architects Enrique Fort and Luis de Landecho, is adorned with Greek Revival paintings by Arturo Mélida.