Munch's 'The Scream' inscription confirmed as artist's own, amid tales of theft and recovery
Experts at the National Museum of Norway have verified that the phrase 'Can only have been painted by a madman' inscribed on Edvard Munch's iconic 1893 artwork The Scream was penned by Munch himself. They employed advanced technological methods to compare the handwriting with Munch's personal letters and diaries. The artwork was taken in 1994 by two individuals who left a sarcastic note; it was later retrieved by DCI Charley Hill, who successfully negotiated a £400,000 ransom. Recently, Anthony Amore announced Hill's passing; they were working together to recover 13 stolen pieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The 1893 piece is one of four versions, with a pastel variant fetching $119.9 million in 2012 and set to relocate to Norway's new National Museum in 2022.
Key facts
- The inscription 'Can only have been painted by a madman' on Munch's The Scream (1893) was confirmed as written by the artist himself.
- Analysis was conducted at the National Museum of Norway using new technology to compare handwriting with Munch's letters and diaries.
- The painting was stolen in 1994 from the museum by two men using a ladder to break an upper-storey window.
- DCI Charley Hill of Scotland Yard's Art Squad recovered it by posing as a Getty Museum representative and paying £400,000 in kroner.
- Hill's death was announced recently; he had been working with Anthony Amore to recover 13 artworks stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 30 years ago.
- Another version of The Scream (1910) from the Munch Museum in Oslo was stolen in 2004 and recovered in 2006.
- One of the pastel versions from 1895 sold for $119.9 million at auction in 2012.
- The painting will move to Norway's new National Museum opening in 2022, combining several collections with improved security.
Entities
Artists
- Edvard Munch
- Rembrandt
- Degas
- Manet
- Vermeer
Institutions
- National Museum of Norway
- National Museum
- Munch Museum
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Scotland Yard's Art Squad
- Getty Museum
- National Gallery
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design
- Country Life
Locations
- Norway
- Oslo
- Boston
- United Kingdom