Oslo · 12 February 1994
The Scream
About fifty seconds, a window and a wire. The opening day of the Winter Olympics.
RecoveredRecovered undamaged, 7 May 1994
The facts
- When
- 12 February 1994, the opening day of the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer
- Where
- The National Gallery, Oslo
- Taken
- The Scream, the National Gallery's version
- The thieves
- Two men broke in. Four men were convicted in 1996, then freed on appeal
- Outcome
- Recovered undamaged on 7 May 1994
How it went
12 February 1994
Norway opens the Winter Olympics. The painting has been moved down to a second-floor gallery as part of the festivities.1
The break-in
Two thieves break through a window, cut the wire that holds the painting to the wall and leave. History.com puts it at about 50 seconds.1, 2
The note
They leave a note thanking the gallery for its poor security. The two sources give different English wording. See the note below.1, 2
3 March
A ransom demand arrives for one million dollars. It is refused. The sources say the gallery refused, or the government.1, 2
The search
Police find four pieces of the painting's frame in Nittedal, north of Oslo. Norwegian police then run a sting with British police and the Getty Museum.1, 2
7 May 1994
The painting is found undamaged at a hotel in Åsgårdstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo.1, 2
January 1996
Four men are convicted, among them Pål Enger, who had been convicted in 1988 of stealing another Munch. They are freed on appeal because the British agents in the sting had entered Norway under false identities.1, 2
The twist
They leave a note thanking the gallery for its poor security.
What came after
It happened again. In August 2004 masked gunmen took another version of The Scream, and The Madonna, from the Munch Museum in Oslo. Both were recovered in 2006.1
Where the sources disagree, and what we left out
- The note. Wikipedia quotes it as “Thanks for the poor security.” History.com quotes it as “Thousand thanks for the bad security!” We have not found the original Norwegian wording, so the card paraphrases it.
- Who refused the ransom. Wikipedia says the gallery. History.com says the government. We say only that it was refused.
- We left out how the thieves got in beyond the window and the wire. No page we checked gives a reliable account.