Has The Scream Ever Been Stolen?
Yes. The Scream has been stolen twice, both times from museums in Oslo. In 1994 one version was taken during the Lillehammer Olympics, and in 2004 another was grabbed at gunpoint in broad daylight. Both were recovered.
They are two of the most brazen art heists of modern times, and both ended the same way: the thieves could not do a thing with the painting.
Here is how each one went down.
How each Scream vanished
First theft: 1994, the National Gallery, Oslo.
Second theft: 2004, the Munch Museum, at gunpoint.
Recovered: 1994 within months, 2004 by 2006.
The cheek: the 1994 thieves left a mocking thank you note.
Note: a different version was taken each time.
The 1994 heist
It happened on the opening day of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, while the world watched Norway.
Two thieves leaned a ladder against the National Gallery, smashed a window, and lifted The Scream off the wall in under a minute. They left behind a postcard that thanked the gallery for its poor security. Months later, undercover police recovered the painting in a sting, and no ransom was ever paid.
The 2004 armed robbery
The second theft was far more frightening. In broad daylight, masked gunmen walked into the Munch Museum in Oslo.
In front of stunned visitors, they threatened staff and tore The Scream and another famous Munch, Madonna, straight off the wall. Both vanished for two years before police recovered them in 2006. The Scream came back with some moisture damage.
Why thieves keep targeting it
The logic seems obvious: it is one of the most famous paintings alive, so it must be worth a fortune.
The flaw is just as obvious. A painting this recognizable cannot be sold. No auction house, no honest collector, no museum will touch it. Stolen icons tend to trap the people who take them, exactly like the mafia and the missing Caravaggio, and to me that is the whole paradox of art theft.
Which Screams were taken
Part of what confuses people is that there is no single Scream to steal.
The 1994 thieves took the National Gallery's painted version. The 2004 robbers took a different one from the Munch Museum. To sort out how many exist, read how many versions of The Scream there are.
The Scream heists, questions answered
Has The Scream been stolen? Yes, twice, in 1994 and 2004.
Were they recovered? Yes, both of them.
Was anyone armed? Yes, the 2004 theft was at gunpoint.
Why steal something so famous? It is nearly impossible to sell, which traps the thieves.
Are there several Screams? Yes, a different version was taken each time.
The least sellable painting in the world
The most stealable painting on Earth turned out to be the least sellable, which is why it always comes home. I tell the whole story of the man who made it in Edvard Munch: The Complete Story.
