Robbers took the work off the wall in broad daylight
Posted on 08/22/2004 11:05:14 AM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
Robbers took the work off the wall in broad daylight
Armed robbers have stolen the iconic Edvard Munch painting, The Scream, from the Munch Museum in Norway. Two masked thieves pulled the work and another painting, Madonna, off the wall as stunned visitors watched on Sunday.
One robber threatened staff with a gun before the pair escaped in a waiting car, a museum officer told the BBC.
The car was later recovered and police also found parts of picture frames near to where a witness reported seeing a suspect vehicle.
The Munch Museum said the two stolen paintings were among its most valuable - worth an estimated $19m (£10.4m) together, according to the BBC's Lars Bevanger.
Norwegian Culture Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland described the theft as "dreadful and shocking".
"We have not protected our cultural treasures adequately. We must learn the lessons," she said. Jorunn Christofferson, a press officer at the Munch Museum, told the BBC the museum was full of people when the robbers took the two paintings - frames and all - off the walls of the gallery.
Kjell Pedersen of the Oslo police told the Norwegian daily Aftenposten that police had "mobilised all available resources on the ground and in the air".
Nobody was hurt and no shots were fired, Ms Christofferson said.
She said the museum had closed-circuit television that would have captured the event on video, but that the thieves "were wearing black hoods, like bank robbers".
No protection
A French radio producer who was in the museum at the time of the theft said security was not very tight.
"What's strange is that in this museum, there weren't any means of protection for the paintings, no alarm bell," Francois Castang told France Inter radio, the Associated Press reported.
"The paintings were simply attached by wire to the walls," he said. "All you had to do is pull on the painting hard for the cord to break loose - which is what I saw one of the thieves doing."
Ms Christofferson said the guards were more concerned with protecting visitors than the paintings.
"When they threaten the guards with a gun there is not much to be done," she told the BBC.
"They were more concerned with the security of the visitors."
Munch painted several versions of his famous 1893 work.
The National Gallery version - considered to be the most significant one - was stolen in 1994 as the Winter Olympic Games began in Lillehammer, Norway.
Demands
The Norwegian government received a demand for a ransom of $1m, but never got proof that those demanding the money had the painting.
An anti-abortion group claimed it could get the painting returned if an anti-abortion film was broadcast on television.
Police dismissed that claim.
The painting was recovered undamaged in a hotel about 65km (40 miles) south of Oslo in May 1994. Three Norwegians were arrested in connection with the theft.
Munch, Norway's best-known artist, died in 1944, aged 81.
I wonder how they intend to sell them? Probably not, possibly ransom them.
Cue the surfacing of 5 very authentic looking copies... Each sold at secret auction as if they were the originals... By seemingly different people, all linked to the same group.
And years from now the original surfaces, and they auction that off...
Making 6 times what they would have otherwise...
Unarmed guards? Why bother? I could never understand why someone would hire an unarmed guard.
Interesting... stealing Munsch's painting is a regularly scheduled event.
"Munch, Norway's best-known artist, died in 1944, aged 81."
Sad... that he is Norway's best-known artist.
I was thinking the same thing.
Isn't it scary that some people actually believed in and supported Howard Dean for President? What would it be like to have a fruitcake nut like that in control of our military and economy? Disaster.
There is a black market among art collectors - it's not unusual for an art patron to buy the stolen artwork and keep it tucked away somewhere. Fancy-pants art collectors can be odd in that way.
They had a special exhibit on "The Scream," showing earlier drawings and works leading up to it. A part of the exhibit was derivative works, ads, political cartoons, etc. using the imagery of "The Scream" - one I had not considered before was McCauly Caulkin's (sp?) scream in the ad for the first "Home Alone" movie.
The rest of the museum had a lot of works from other periods in Munch's life. His moods seemed to go up and down. Some works were morbid and others more hopeful. He spent a lot of time out of Norway, but returned and was living in Norway when the Nazi occupation started. He openly opposed the Nazis and some of his last works reflect that.
I also once stayed in a hotel in Oslo that used Munch's works as a theme. Yes, I stayed on "The Scream" floor.
Oh, and while at the museum, I had to pick up an inflatable "Scream" for my daughter. She loved it.
What a sick world we live in when someone would actually bother to steal such junk. LOL
Easy. The owners are liberals.
We have a 4' blow up doll of the screaming person in our office at school. My Norwegian classmate/officemate brought in the doll as a stress reliever. Apparently there is a big market for 'Scream' merchandise over there.
Maybe the museum would like to borrow the doll until they get the painting back? : )
Det John Munch, from "Law & Order"..would be annoyed..
If a painting is stolen from a Norwegian museum and no one gives a d*mn, is it "The Scream"?
Anybody check Sandy Burgers socks?
The degree to which something is valued is reflected in the lengths to which one will go to guard it.
"PUT DOWN THE MUNCH PAINTING NOW, SIR! I MEAN IT! I'LL SHOOT!"
In Norway, I think only cops can carry loaded squirt guns and if you want a gun charm on your keychain you need a special license.
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