Did you see The Scream sold at auction in New York for
£120 million? The bidding was over in fifteen minutes. My versions are here: a
big one is for sale at just £100,000 and the small one for £25,000. That’s a
good bargain.
I’m sure everyone knows this painting by now even though its something an eight year old could accomplish. There were
four versions done by the Norwegian artist Edvard
Munch. I copied this version when I was about 25 and didn’t know the different
in acrylics and oils.
The painting sold is one of four versions and the only one
owned by private collectors; the other three paintings are in Norwegian
museums.
When Hitler was in
power paintings by Munch were declared degenerate by the Nazis and removed from
the walls of galleries in Germany.
Thomas Olsen, who has just sold the painting, rescued 74 of Munch’s
works from destruction by the Germans. He hid them in a barn until Norway was
liberated in 1945.
A version of The
Scream was stolen in 1994 when four men broke into the National Gallery in
Norway and left a note saying, "Thanks for the poor security". A
ransom of a million dollars was put forward but the gallery refused. A sting
operation was set up and the painting was recovered undamaged. Another version
of The Scream was stolen in 2004 when men with guns stole it from a m in Oslo. They stole two of Munch’s paintings and wanted
£200,000 for their return. In 2006
Norwegian police recovered both paintings. The Scream was moist and a little
scratched and the other painting had been torn in a few places. Before being
repaired they were exhibited for five days and thousands of people went to have
a look. They probably took much more time repairing it than Munch took painting
it.
This bit of
footage shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTVlRzn-GOo