The Scream Auction History
This 1893 version of The Scream has no public auction record. In 1910 Olaf Schou privately purchased it from Munch and immediately gifted it to Oslo’s National Gallery (now the National Museum of Norway), where it remains. The work was stolen in 1994 and recovered the same year. Market benchmarks for Munch rely on other versions, notably the 1895 pastel that sold for $119.9m in 2012.
- Artwork
- The Scream
- Artist
- Edvard Munch
- Best-known sale or transfer
- No public auction; 1910 private purchase and gift
- Sale type
- No known public sale
- Current location / owner
- National Museum of Norway, Oslo
Auction and Ownership Timeline
Work created
Edvard Munch executed The Scream in tempera and oil pastel (crayon) on cardboard, 91 × 73.5 cm; now inv. NG.M.00939 [1].
First exhibited in Berlin
Galerie Unter den Linden, Berlin
Shown at Galerie Unter den Linden, Berlin, in 1893, then titled Verzweiflung/Despair [1].
Right of first refusal noted
National Gallery, Oslo
National Gallery minutes in October 1901 record that Munch granted the museum or patron Olaf Schou a right of first refusal [1].
Purchased by Olaf Schou
Norway
Olaf Schou privately purchased the painting from Munch in 1910; no price is published [1].
Gift to the National Gallery, Oslo
National Gallery, Oslo
Schou immediately gifted the painting to the National Gallery (now within the National Museum of Norway), where it entered the national collection [1].
Theft from the National Gallery
National Gallery, Oslo
The painting was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo during the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics period, prompting a major investigation [3].
Recovered by police
Norway
Norwegian authorities recovered The Scream on May 7, 1994; the high-profile case underscored the work’s global fame [3][4].
Inscription authenticated
National Museum of Norway, Oslo
Research confirmed the pencil inscription 'Can only be painted by a madman!' is in Munch’s hand, deepening the work’s art-historical significance [5].
On view at the new National Museum
National Museum of Norway, Oslo
The painting is a centerpiece in the National Museum of Norway’s new building in Oslo, opened June 11, 2022 [2].
Provenance and Ownership
1893–1910: Retained by Edvard Munch; exhibited from 1893 (Berlin, as Verzweiflung/Despair). In 1901, the National Gallery noted a right of first refusal from Munch to the museum or Olaf Schou [1].
1910: Norwegian patron Olaf Schou privately purchased the painting from Munch and immediately gifted it to the National Gallery in Oslo (today part of the National Museum of Norway) [1].
1910–present: In the national collection in Oslo. The work was stolen on 12 February 1994 and recovered on 7 May 1994 [3][4]. It is now on view in the National Museum’s new building, opened 11 June 2022 [2].
Quick Facts
- Last known sale
- 1910
- Known sale price
- Not publicly reported
- Sale type
- No known public sale
- Venue / institution
- National Gallery (now National Museum of Norway), Oslo
- Current owner or location
- National Museum of Norway, Oslo
- Publicly viewable?
- Yes
Why This Sale Matters
There is no public auction history for this 1893 version of The Scream. Its decisive market moment was a private 1910 purchase by Norwegian patron Olaf Schou, immediately followed by his gift to Oslo’s National Gallery, securing the work for the national collection where it has remained [1]. As a result, valuation discourse relies on comparables and the broader Munch market rather than direct price discovery for this exact object.
The most relevant benchmark is a closely related iteration: the 1895 pastel of The Scream, which sold at Sotheby’s New York on 2 May 2012 for $119,922,500 (with premium), then a world auction record for any artwork and still Munch’s highest auction price [6]. Subsequent top results, such as Girls on the Bridge (1902) at $54.5m with fees in 2016, confirm sustained demand for prime Munch subjects of museum caliber [7].
For collectors and institutions, this painting’s provenance underscores a key aspect of Munch’s market: many canonical works entered public collections early, limiting supply. The Schou gift created permanent scarcity for this specific version, removing it from trade while elevating its cultural visibility; even the 1994 theft and swift recovery amplified its renown beyond the art market [3][4]. Therefore, while this painting itself has no auction trajectory, it anchors the artist’s reputation within Norway’s national patrimony [1][2] and frames the exceptional pricing of related works that do reach the market [6][7].
Related Pages
Other auction histories by Edvard Munch
Sources
- The Scream (NG.M.00939) – Collection entry — National Museum of Norway
- The National Museum opens in Oslo on 11 June 2022 — National Museum of Norway via Mynewsdesk
- ‘A relief’: ‘The Scream’ stolen masterpiece is recovered — The Washington Post
- The Scream recovered — History.com
- Infrared scans reveal author of hidden graffiti on The Scream — National Museum of Norway via Mynewsdesk
- Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' fetches $120M at auction — CBS News
- Munch's 'Girls on the Bridge' fetches more than $50m — The Art Newspaper