The Theft of The Scream
Stories behind the Works of Art
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The Scream (1893). Edward Munch
There is a funny story behind the theft of The Scream. The thief left a note saying “Thousand thanks for the bad security.”
The Scream was a forerunner and an icon of the 20th Expressionist movement. It is one of the most “renowned” paintings in the history of art; it has become an icon of the anguish and desperation of modern man.
Through the fun door, Pal Enger, the thief, also entered the history of art.
Everything took place in 1994. Six years earlier, Enger had already stolen another work by Munch (The Vampire).
This time, he only had to wait for everybody In Oslo to be busy with the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer (even the security officers of the Museum were working there). Enger had a simple and effective idea (showing that the human mind is complex and sometimes can be fooled by the simplest things): in the early morning he put a wooden ladder on the facade, entered through the window and although it seems that the window alarm was triggered and there were security cameras, as there was no one around, he was able to cut the wire from which the work was hanging and leave with total peace of mind.
The whole thing took no 50 seconds, despite all the tranquility.
Three months later, the painting was recovered and exhibited again, but behind bulletproof glass and with less innocent security measures.
Enger was arrested, and a few years later he confessed that he had not done it for the money but for the challenge. And he boasted: he said that what he had enjoyed most was hiding it between the planks of a table, and knowing that all the Norwegian police were looking for the work while his family was having lunch on top of it.
Recommended links:
About Edvard Munch and The Scream.
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