The iconic masterpiece by Edvard Munch will be auctioned off on May 2
Edvard Munch, The Scream (1895)
Edvard Munch’s The Scream easily counts as one of the most recognisable images both in art history and popular culture, and this iconic masterpiece is soon to go on the market.
Sotheby’s recently announced that The Scream will lead its Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York on May 2, 2012.
The present version of The Scream, which dates from 1895, is one of four versions of the composition, and is the only version that’s still in private hands. The National Gallery of Norway holds the 1893 version in tempera and crayon on board, while a pastel version thought to be a preliminary sketch for the work as well as a later version in tempera and oil on board belong to the collection of The Munch Museum.
The work to be offered by Sotheby’s is owned by Norwegian businessman, Petter Olsen, whose father Thomas was a friend, neighbour and patron of Munch. It has been in the Olsen family’s collection for over 70 years, and has never before been on public view in either the UK or US, except briefly in the National Gallery in Washington D.C. decades ago.
Of the four versions, the present The Scream is distinguished in several remarkable ways – it is the most colourful and vibrant; the only version whose original frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem detailing the work’s inspiration; and the only version in which one of the two figures in the background turns to look outward onto the cityscape.
“Instantly recognisable, this is one of very few images which transcends art history and reaches a global consciousness,” commented Simon Shaw, senior vice president and head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art department in New York. “The Scream arguably embodies even greater power today than when it was conceived. At a time of great critical interest in the artist, and with the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2013, this spring is a particularly compelling time for The Scream to appear on the market. For collectors and institutions, the opportunity to acquire such a singularly influential masterpiece is unprecedented in recent times.”
The painting is estimated to sell for over US$80million.