The Scream, a ladder and a thank-you note
On the morning of Norway’s Winter Olympics opening, thieves turned a museum window into an escape route.
While the world watched Norway
On 12 February 1994, the day the Lillehammer Winter Olympics opened, two thieves targeted Norway’s National Gallery in Oslo. They used a ladder and a broken window to reach Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Reports describe an operation lasting less than a minute: a world-famous image removed through a strikingly ordinary point of entry. [1][2]
An insult left behind
A postcard remained at the scene, thanking the gallery for its poor security. Its taunting message made the theft especially memorable. The note was a provocation, however, not an explanation of every failure that allowed the crime. Later museum accounts treated the episode as a security lesson, with the painting’s fame making the apparent simplicity of the intrusion all the more uncomfortable. [1][2]
One title, different crimes
The work was recovered on 7 May 1994. A crucial distinction is often lost in retellings: Munch produced several versions of The Scream. The National Gallery painting dates from 1893, as its collection record establishes. The armed robbery at the Munch Museum in 2004 involved another version. Keeping the dates, institutions and objects separate prevents two dramatic cases from becoming one inaccurate legend. [3][4]
Recovered
The painting was recovered on 7 May 1994. This story concerns the National Gallery’s 1893 painting, not the different version stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004.
Sources checked 8 November 2026.Artwork Details & DocumentationIdentification, ownership history and supporting records
The Scream — National Gallery version
- Artwork title
- The Scream — National Gallery versionNasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Maker / attribution
- Edvard MunchNasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Object type
- PaintingNasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Creation date / period
- 1893Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Materials & technique
- Tempera and wax crayon on cardboardNasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Measurements
- 91 × 73.5 cm (height × width)Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Accession / inventory number
- NG.M.00939Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Inscriptions & markings
- Signed and dated E. Munch 1893 at lower left.Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Distinguishing features
- A preliminary sketch of the composition is on the reverse.Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
- Subject
- Frontal figure above the Kristianiafjord, with two figures behind.Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
Documented ownership history
- 1910
Olaf Schou purchased the painting and immediately gave it to the National Gallery.
Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked - 1994
Stolen from the National Gallery and returned that year; distinct from the Munch Museum painting.
Nasjonalmuseet — NG.M.00939 ↗ · checked
Only stages supported by the cited sources are shown. This list is not a complete chain of ownership.
Record sources
Identification details follow the Object ID categories where documented. Ownership history is recorded separately; this documentation is not an authentication or a certificate of ownership.
Sources & further reading
- ABC · The 1994 theft, thirty years later ↗
- Kunstavisen / NTB · Museum security retrospective ↗
- History · The Scream recovered ↗
- Nasjonalmuseet · Collection record NG.M.00939 ↗
An original narrative synthesis of the sources above. Images depict the artworks; they are not reconstructions of the thefts.
