Munch's famous 'Scream,' 'Madonna' stolen...

[Cooley Hurd]

...from the National Gallery in Norway by armed gunman.

Munch's famous 'Scream,' 'Madonna' stolen

<snip>
OSLO, Norway -- Armed men stormed into an art museum Sunday, threatened staff at gunpoint and stole Edvard Munch's famous paintings "The Scream" and "Madonna" before the eyes of stunned museum-goers.

The thieves yanked the paintings off the walls of Oslo's Munch museum and loaded them into a waiting car outside, said a witness, French radio producer Francois Castang.

Police spokeswoman Hilde Walsoe said the two or three armed men threatened a museum employee with a handgun to give them the two paintings, including "The Scream" - Munch's famed depiction of an anguished figure with its head in its hands.

"No one has been physically injured, and the suspects escaped in an Audi A6. We are searching for the suspects with all available means," Walsoe told The Associated Press.
</snip>

[iconoclastic cat]

1. Call Inspector Clouseau!

He'll find the culprit. With hilarious results.

[gottaB]

2. link from beeb

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3588282.stm

[SoCalDem]

3. Not stolen....escaped

from the loons at www.b3ta.com

[Cooley Hurd]

5. *Snarf!*

...heading to a Democracy For America meetup, no doubt, to take issue with Howard Dean for "copyright infringement...":D

[Malva Zebrina]

4. from the diary of Munch

I was walking along the road with two friends.
The sun was setting.
I felt a breath of melancholy -
Suddenly the sky turned blood-red.
I stopped, and leaned against the railing, deathly tired -
looking out across the flaming clouds that hung like blood and a sword
over the blue-black fjord and town.
My friends walked on - I stood there, trembling with fear.
And I sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature."

[Dover]

13. ......horrific beauty........

Thanks for sharing this. Seems like symbolic synchroneity that these two paintings would come front and center to the collective at this time.

[Malva Zebrina]

17. I thought so also nt

[thebigidea]

6. good luck selling it.

Criswell predicts! Pick one:

A) It's up on some asshole's wall. Not wanting to tell anyone, he'll keep it secret for a while until pride gets the best of him and he shows it to a friend... who laughs and thinks its a reproduction. After insisting endlessly, the friend calls the cops.

B) One of the gunmen feel cheated on the deal and squeals.

C) A ridiculous Norwegian art group will put out a manifesto of some kind taking responsibility for it. They return it and cash in on the publicity, making more on their work than they would hocking the Scream.

[NWHarkness]

20. Or they will be held for ransom

I think that is most likely

[shanti]

26. it won't be sold on the open market

most likely, it's going straight into someone's private collection, just as ordered.

it's doubtful that we will see these works of art again:-(

[Princess Turandot]

30. When the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston was robbed...

back in the '80's, I think, several well known paintings were never recovered. One was a Vermeer, whose extant body of work is among the smallest in the world for famous painters. I'm sure they went right into a private collection.

[Atlas Mugged]

7. I'm sure...

...that Macaulay Culkin will be more than happy to pose for another one.

Tragically, I met (briefly!!) someone who actually thought the painting was inspired by 'Home Alone'.

[Geo55]

16. "thought the painting was inspired by 'Home Alone"

LOLOL....for real?
Ahhhh, culture dies a lonely death.

[smirkymonkey]

18. That's pretty funny!

Thanks for the laugh!

[NashVegas]

8. Must Be Something About the Olympics

Didn't this happen in 1992, during the games?

[Warpy]

9. Aw cripes! Not again!

I recall a little over a decade ago that The Scream was stolen by a bunch of fetus fetishists who wanted to hold it for ransom to end legal abortion. They didn't get far and the painting was obviously recovered. Morons.

This seems more like a shopping list from some fat cat who doesn't particulrly want to pay for anything. After all, what's the good of hoarding money if you have to spend it?

It will undoubtedly end up on a private study wall in a room the servants aren't permitted to enter, shown only on special occasions to other fat cats with no principles.

It will be recovered when one of the other fat cats gets jealous enough and squeals.

[shockingelk]

10. anti-choicers took credit for the theft

Not sure if they actually stole it though.

[LibLabUK]

22. Err..

"This seems more like a shopping list from some fat cat who doesn't particulrly want to pay for anything."

That makes absolutely no sense.

Unless he stole it himself, he'd have to PAY people to do it.

He would be unable to purchase it legally, as it's not for sale...

[Scairp]

25. delete

[MallRat]

11. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

n/t

[AngryAmish]

12. There is a joke in there

Munch...Scream...Madonna...

[Robb]

15. There is indeed

(snarf!) :D

On a more serious note, I hope their only lead isn't "ther're driving an A6". I seem to recall in northern Europe everyone is driving an A6. I think my cab ride in Rotterdam was an A4. :eyes:

[Dover]

14. Maybe they will use the paintings as "hostages" and will make demands

threatening to destroy them if they are not met.

[sofa king]

19. Again?

What the hell, did they let the guys who did it before out of jail again?

Since Munch appears to have made about twenty origial versions of "The Scream," maybe they ought to give one to everyone who completes five years in prison for art thievery.

[Bo]

21. NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[TacticalPeek]

23. How much for Madonna?

Nevermind. I prefer the humor in the 1902 version:




:)

[ksatriyakiller]

24. I THINK THIS IS COOL

High profile art/jewelry thieves are hard to come by these days. an audi A6, that is just iceing on the cake. somebody make a movie.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

27. This is absolutely a TRAVESTY!

My heart is breaking! :(

[nonbelief]

28. Correction...

Edvard Munch painted several versions of "The Scream".

The one stolen over the weekend was not the most famous version, which remains on display in its museum home.

[0rganism]

29. Well, you gotta hand it to these thieves, they've got taste

Let's send Jackie Chan over to kick their butts!

[GarySeven]

31. Has FOX blamed Sandy Berger yet?

[rabbit2484]

32. I see they found the getaway car.

I wonder if they found a Bible and instructions on how to successfully rob a museum in the car.