The Scream

The Scream (Skrik, 1893) is a seminal expressionist painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Regarded by many as his most important work, it is said by some to symbolize modern man taken by an attack of existential angst, with the skyline inspired by the red twilights seen after the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.[1] The landscape in the background is Oslofjord, viewed from the hill of Ekeberg. The Norwegian word skrik is usually translated as "scream", but is cognate with the English shriek. Occasionally, the painting has been called The Cry.

There is a tempera on cardboard version (measuring 83.5 x 66 cm) formerly in the Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway (see gallery), and an oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard (measuring 91 x 73.5 cm) in the National Gallery (shown to right), also in Oslo. A third version is also owned by the Munch Museum, and a fourth is owned by Petter Olsen. Munch later also translated the picture into a lithograph (see gallery), so the image could be reproduced in reviews all over the world. Since 1994, two separate versions of The Scream have been stolen by art thieves, but both were eventually recovered.


Thefts

On 12 February 1994 the National Gallery's Scream was stolen, the same day that the 1994 Winter Olympics opened in Lillehammer. The painting had been moved to a ground floor display as part of the Olympic festivities, and the presence of international media made the theft a sensation. An early claim of responsibility by a Norwegian anti-abortion group turned out to be false. After three months, the painting was offered back to the Norwegian government for a ransom of USD $1 million. The ransom was refused, but the painting was nevertheless recovered on 7 May 1994, following a sting operation organised by the Norwegian police with assistance from the British Police and the Getty Museum.

On August 22, 2004, the Munch Museum's Scream was stolen at gunpoint, along with Munch's Madonna. Museum officials expressed hope that they would see the painting again, theorizing that perhaps the thieves would seek ransom money. On April 8, 2005, Norwegian police arrested a suspect in connection with the theft. On April 28, 2005, it was rumoured that the two paintings had been burnt by the thieves to conceal evidence. On June 1, 2005, the City Government of Oslo offered a reward of 2 million kroner (about USD $320,000) for information that could help locate the paintings. In early 2006, six men with previous criminal records were scheduled to go on trial, variously charged with either helping to plan or execute the robbery. Three of the men were convicted and sentenced to between four and eight years in prison in May of 2006. Two of the convicted art thieves, Björn Hoen, 37, and Petter Tharaldsen, 34, were also ordered to pay 750 million kroner (US $122 million) to the City of Oslo which is where the paintings were previously located. The Munch Museum itself was closed for 10 months for a $6 million security overhaul.


Recovery

On August 31, 2006, Norwegian police announced that the paintings had been recovered again from a raid, and the paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition with only a minor scratch and two minor holes. "We are 100 percent certain they are the originals," police chief Iver Stensrud told a news conference. "The damage was much less than feared."

On September 1, 2006, Munch Museum director Ingebjoerg Ydstie said that the condition of the paintings was much better than expected and that the damages could be repaired.