The Scream Robberies (Yes, Two)
I’m 100% sure you can picture this iconic painting, The Scream by Edvard Munch. It is a whole mood. What may be news to you is that there are actually four versions of this painting in four different places and two of them have each been stolen once. This one may get confusing, sorry in advance.
The Four Screams
As I said, four versions of this work exist. Two of them are in pastel and two of them are in tempera paint but they are all THE MOST recognizable and have essentially the same composition. Many people say that this creepy, impersonal being in the foreground symbolizes the collective anxiety of the human condition. Like I said A WHOLE MOOD, especially in 2020.
Munch claimed to have seen the background of the work with its red and orange sky and river while on a walk in a fjord near Oslo and he said he sensed an “infinite scream passing through nature”. That would be enough to get me to make that face tbh, incredibly unsettling.
1994 Theft
On the opening day of the 1994 Olympics in Norway, two men broke into the National Gallery in Oslo, before it opened for the day, and stole its version of The Scream (above). Before this, the painting had been moved down to a second-story gallery making it much easier view since there were going to be more people than usual in town. This put it in reach of the thieves, it took them only 50 seconds to climb their ladder, smash the window, cut the painting down with wire cutters and GTFO. My favourite thing about this theft is that they left a note saying “Thanks for the poor security”. Like, way to just really rub their noses in it, I love it.
They left the wire cutters and their ladder behind and they were also filmed on surveillance cameras climbing up and down the ladder but since it was 1994 I couldn’t even tell what I was looking at when I saw the stills from the video. Even in this version where the ladder and thieves are illuminated it is impossible to see anything.
The thieves sent a ransom note to the gallery in March 1994 asking for $1 million (£700,000) but they refused to pay it because they couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a scam, which I guess...fair enough. In May the Norwegian police were like ok this painting is iconic and unsellable so it probably still exists somewhere and they linked up with the British police force for an undercover sting operation. They ended up finding the painting unharmed and in pretty good shape in a seaside town outside Oslo where Munch had painted a lot of his famous works. It was returned to the gallery and is still there. In January 1996 four men were convicted of the raid and theft of the painting, they were also sentenced but were released on appeal since the British police didn’t follow proper procedure *eye roll*.
THE BEST FACT: One of the men convicted in this sting is now a legitimate art buyer and legally acquired a Munch lithograph at auction in 2001. Kids, if you want to do a job best to try it out illegally first before committing.
2004 Theft
This 2004 robbery was was a lot bolder on the part of the thieves. This time they stole this museum’s version of The Scream plus another Munch work, a version of Madonna. Two men entered the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway at around 11:00am, in broad daylight. They were wearing balaclavas and carrying pistols (not exactly creative geniuses) which they used to threaten the guards who were unarmed. One thief handled the guards and the museum-goers while the other one used wire cutters, a trend, to clip the framed pieces down from the wall. According to witnesses the thieves were clumsy and didn’t seem super organized, they even dropped the pieces as they were leaving.
Soon after the theft the frames and glass were found causing an absolute panic with authorities thinking that this meant the thieves had destroyed the paintings. However, after searching and even offering a reward the paintings were recovered in 2006. They were both in “better than expected” condition and could be repaired. Six men went on trial for the theft and three were convicted, funnily enough this all happened before the paintings were found.
Following this the Munch Museum was closed for 10 months for a full security overhaul and when it re-opened The Scream and Madonna were on display in their own special space behind protective glass.
So What?
Obviously it’s interesting that the two painted versions of this piece have each been stolen but what bothers me more is that no one knows why either of these paintings was taken in the first place. What were the thieves’ motives???
It couldn’t have been the monetary value of the paintings because they’re TOO recognizable and would be impossible to sell, although they’re extremely valuable (duh). Were they trying to distract police from something else that was going on at the same time? Were they just drawn to the paintings? Did they want the prestige of having a version of this work in their home (even though they wouldn’t be able to have it out all the time)? Is it something else entirely? I honestly have no idea and it’s interesting to think about. What would you do with a priceless, unsellable painting that you risked everything to get?