[CPProt.net] 'The Scream' still missing, six months on

[CulPropProtNet/MusSecNetwork]

'The Scream' still missing, six months on 
Posted Tue, 22 Feb 2005 

Six months have passed since Edvard Munch's world-renowned masterpieces "The
Scream" and "Madonna" were stolen from an Oslo art museum in a spectacular
robbery, but despite massive police efforts the works have yet to be
recovered. 

Several people have been hauled in for questioning, the tabloids have more
than once predicted a major breakthrough in the case and the best private
detectives are on the trail. But still the two masterpieces, said to be
worth more than $100-million, have not been found. 

"We're working on several leads. But we're not prioritizing one over the
other," police inspector Oeyvind Nordgaren told AFP. 

"The Scream" (1893) and "Madonna" (1893-94) were grabbed last August 22 by
two armed and hooded thieves who burst into the Munch Museum in broad
daylight, threatening a member of staff with a gun as stunned tourists
looked on. 

Grabbing the paintings off the walls, the robbers fled the scene in a stolen
black Audi driven by an accomplice. 

Surprisingly simple in its execution, the heist took just a few minutes. But
an ensuing controversy lasted for weeks when it was revealed that there were
no surveillance images good enough to help investigators, perhaps a sign of
the naivete in this country largely spared from violent crime. 

Police found the getaway car the same day, only to discover that the thieves
had dumped the contents of a fire extinguisher into the car to remove any
DNA traces. The paintings' wooden frames were also found, possibly discarded
because they may have contained electronic tracking devices. 

Since then, very little has surfaced in the investigation. 

Officially, the thieves have not asked for a ransom, even though experts
believe that that must have been their motive since the works are far too
well-known to be resold. 

"The Scream" has become an iconic symbol of Expressionist angst, showing an
individual on a bridge, hands clasped around the head, and mouth wide open
in an apparent yell of despair. 

One of the most famous paintings in the world, it is said to reflect Munch's
existential despair after the early deaths of his mother and elder sister. 

On December 23, investigators said they had questioned a suspect in the
robbery, a 37-year-old man who had a history of car theft. 

But almost two months later, Nordgaren said that "for the time being we have
not made an arrest nor pressed any charges." 

Every once in a while, tabloids run reports citing sources in the underworld
saying that the paintings are still in Norway, that they were damaged in the
heist or that police know who the thieves are. 

In February 1994, another version of the "The Scream" was stolen from Oslo's
National Gallery on the first day of the Olympic Winter Games in
Lillehammer, Norway, after the thief climbed a ladder and smashed a window
to enter the building. 

But that time police needed only three months to recover the famous
painting, after investigators pretended to be rich Americans who wanted to
buy back the artwork to return it to the museum. 

Former Norwegian footballer Paal Enger, who was sentenced to six years in
prison for that theft, was eliminated as a suspect in the August 22 heist
when it was determined that he had a good alibi. 

But police haven't given up hope of finding the artnappers. 

"We are firmly committed to resolving this affair," Nordgaren said. "But
it's going to be a lengthy investigation." 

The Munch Museum will meanwhile remain closed until this summer pending the
installation of a new security system. 

AFP