Madonna Auction History
No public auction is recorded for Edvard Munch’s Madonna (1894). The painting was gifted by patron Olaf Schou to the National Gallery, Oslo, in 1909 and remains in the National Museum of Norway. A 2021 technical study confirmed it as the earliest painted version, underscoring its art-historical significance rather than market price-setting.
- Artwork
- Madonna
- Artist
- Edvard Munch
- Sale type
- No known public sale
- Current location / owner
- National Museum of Norway (Nasjonalmuseet), Oslo
Auction and Ownership Timeline
Painted in 1894; earliest painted version
Edvard Munch completes Madonna (oil on canvas, 90.5 × 70.5 cm; signed "E Munch"); a 2021 infrared reflectography study identified this canvas as the earliest painted version.[1][2]
First public showing, Stockholm
Stockholm
Shown in "Edvard Munchs utställning" in Stockholm, reflecting that the work remained with the artist during his self-organized exhibitions of the 1890s.[1]
‘Frieze of Life’ presentation, Leipzig
Leipzig
Exhibited at P.H. Beyer & Sohn, Leipzig, where Munch presented the Frieze of Life; period documentation shows Madonna hung beside Ashes.[1]
Gift of Olaf Schou to the National Gallery, Oslo
National Gallery, Oslo
Oslo collector and patron Olaf Schou donates the painting to the National Gallery (now the National Museum of Norway), establishing its continuous public ownership.[1][4]
IRR study confirms earliest version
Oslo
The National Museum announces infrared reflectography findings revealing underdrawing changes and confirming this canvas as the earliest painted Madonna.[2]
On view in the National Museum’s Munch Room
National Museum of Norway, Oslo
Following the museum’s opening, the painting goes on display in the dedicated Munch Room from June 11, 2022.[2]
Provenance and Ownership
1894–at least 1903: Edvard Munch, the artist; exhibited repeatedly by Munch in Stockholm (1894), Kristiania/Oslo, Berlin, Bergen (1895), Berlin Secession (1902), and Leipzig (1903) [1].
By 1909: Olaf Schou (1861–1925), Oslo collector and patron [1][4].
1909–present: National Gallery, Oslo (now the National Museum of Norway), gift of Olaf Schou; included among works shown in the museum’s 1987–88 exhibition of Schou’s gifts [1][3][4].
Quick Facts
- Last known sale
- Not publicly reported
- Known sale price
- Not publicly reported
- Sale type
- No known public sale
- Venue / institution
- National Gallery, Oslo (gift, 1909)
- Current owner or location
- National Museum of Norway (Nasjonalmuseet), Oslo
- Publicly viewable?
- Yes
Why This Sale Matters
There is no public auction for this specific Madonna; it entered Oslo’s National Gallery in 1909 as a gift from Olaf Schou and has remained in the National Museum of Norway’s collection ever since [1][4]. Its market value has therefore never been tested in public, and its significance today is art-historical: a 2021 technical study confirmed it as the earliest painted version of Munch’s Madonna, a key image within the artist’s Frieze of Life cycle [2].
The broader market context shows sustained demand for Munch’s most resonant subjects. Top auction benchmarks include The Scream (1895 pastel) at $119.9m in 2012, Girls on the Bridge (1902) at $54.5m in 2016, and Dance on the Beach (1906–07; restituted) at £16.94m in 2023 [10][11][12]. The Madonna motif itself exists in multiple media and five painted versions according to the MUNCH museum; several painted examples are in public institutions while at least two remain in private hands (including works credited to Steven A. Cohen and to Catherine Woodard & Nelson Blitz, Jr.) [5][6][7]. A different painted Madonna carried a reported presale estimate of at least £7m in 1999, indicating robust late-1990s interest, although the realized price was not published there [9]. In prints, a hand-colored Madonna set a UK auction record for a print at £1.25m in 2010, underscoring collector appetite for the image across media [8].
Because the National Museum’s Madonna has been publicly held since 1909, it has not acted as a price-setting comparator. Instead, its primacy (now confirmed as the earliest painted version), exhibition pedigree in the 1890s–1903, and continuous museum stewardship define its importance within Munch’s oeuvre and the scholarship around the Frieze of Life—factors that are central to the artist’s market yet independent of a sale event [1][2].
Related Pages
Other auction histories by Edvard Munch
Sources
- Madonna, NG.M.00841 – Object record — National Museum of Norway
- Discovery at the National Museum of Norway reveals unknown underdrawings in Edvard Munch’s Madonna — National Museum of Norway (via Mynewsdesk)
- Olaf Schous gaver til Nasjonalgalleriet (1987–88) – Exhibition listing — National Museum of Norway
- Olaf Schou — Norsk biografisk leksikon
- Madonna — motif overview — MUNCH
- Madonna (Woll M 368) — catalogue record (Credit Steven A. Cohen) — MUNCH
- Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed — Annotated Checklist — The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Munch’s Madonna print sets UK record at £1.25m — The Guardian
- Madonna by Munch may fetch £7m — The Independent
- Sotheby’s sells Munch’s The Scream for $119.9 million — Los Angeles Times
- Munch’s ‘Girls on the Bridge’ Sells for $54.5 Million at Sotheby’s — Bloomberg
- Restituted Munch painting sells for £16.94M at auction — AP News