THE SCREAM SELLS FOR RECORD AMOUNT
May 3 2012
New York, NY – One of four original versions the famous painting ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch has sold for a record amount of nearly $120 million dollars. While the buyer was not revealed, it’s believed that he or she is an avid art collector with way too much money. Most people at the auction were shocked at the selling price, not understanding the interest and with most thinking that Munch himself would scream after hearing the price, as a comment on the perils and anxieties of modern society, entirely missing the point of the purchase of course.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” — one of the most recognizable paintings in history — set a world record Wednesday when it sold for $119.9 million at Sotheby’s in New York.
This magnificent picture, which is not only one of the seminal images of our history, but also one of the visual keys for modern consciousness, achieved a world record.
"The Scream” is one of four versions of a work whose nightmarish central figure and lurid, swirling colors symbolized the existential angst and despair of the modern age. It was sold by Norwegian Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and supporter of the artist. He plans to establish a new museum in Norway.
On two occasions, other versions of the painting have been stolen from museums, although both were recovered. Copies have adorned everything from student dorms to tea mugs and the work has the rare quality of being known to art experts and the general public alike.
The work, created in 1895, went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in New York and was won by an anonymous telephone bidder.
The sale beat the previous world record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction which was held by Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust. That sold at Christie’s in New York for $106 million (£70 million) in May 2010.
It had been estimated that The Scream would fetch upwards of $80 million (£50 million) and the auction house had hoped that it would topple the record.
On Wednesday night in New York after more than 10 minutes of tense bidding, starting at $40m, the previous record fell.
Two anonymous telephone bidders went head to head from about the $80 million mark and slowly inched into world record territory.
The artwork almost sold at $105 million before a late intervention saw the bidding continue to $107 million. Once the 'buyer's premium' is added the sum becomes $119,922,500.
The masterpiece was put on the market by Petter Olsen, a Norwegian businessman, whose family knew Munch and who have owned the portrait since the 1930s.
There are four versions of The Scream created by Munch, three of which are in museums. Two versions weren stolen while on display but have since been recovered.
The version sold last night was the only one remaining in private hands and is considered perhaps the most sought-after of the four because it contains a poem about the work – written in the artist’s own hand – on the frame.
It reads:
The Scream is one of the world’s most iconic artworks. It inspired tributes from other artists, including Andy Warhol. And it gave rise to the Scream series of horror films in which the murderer wears a mask depicting the screaming face.
Two anonymous telephone bidders went head to head from about the $80 million mark and slowly inched into world record territory.
The artwork almost sold at $105 million before a late intervention saw the bidding continue to $107 million. Once the 'buyer's premium' is added the sum becomes $119,922,500.
The masterpiece was put on the market by Petter Olsen, a Norwegian businessman, whose family knew Munch and who have owned the portrait since the 1930s.
There are four versions of The Scream created by Munch, three of which are in museums. Two versions weren stolen while on display but have since been recovered.
The version sold last night was the only one remaining in private hands and is considered perhaps the most sought-after of the four because it contains a poem about the work – written in the artist’s own hand – on the frame.
It reads:
“I was walking along the road with two Friends
the Sun was setting –
The Sky turned a bloody red
And I felt a whiff of Melancholy –
I stood
Still, deathly tired –
over the blue-black
Fjord and City hung Blood and Tongues of Fire
My Friends walked on –
I remained behind–
shivering with Anxiety –
I felt the great Scream in Nature
– EM.” (Edvard Munch)The Scream is one of the world’s most iconic artworks. It inspired tributes from other artists, including Andy Warhol. And it gave rise to the Scream series of horror films in which the murderer wears a mask depicting the screaming face.
1:29AM BST 03 May 2012
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