Edward Munch’s "scream" could go for $ 80 million at Sotheby’s

One of four versions of Edward Munch’s “Scream” masterpiece will be exhibited this spring at Sotheby’s in New York. It is assumed that the picture, which has become a visual embodiment of anxiety and horror, will go under the hammer for $ 80 million or more.

Pastel "Scream" by Norwegian artist Edward Munch. The painting, dated 1895, is one of four versions of the composition. It will be sold at the evening auction of impressionists and modernists Sotheby’s in New York, May 2, 2012.

The canvas, written in 1895, depicts a man against the background of a blood-red sky, which holds on to his head, covering his ears. It will be sold by the Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend of Munk and took care of the artist. By the way, this is the only version of Scream that belongs to a private individual.

“I spent side-by-side with this work all my life, and its energy only increased with time,” Olsen says. “However, now I feel that the moment has come to offer the whole world the opportunity to possess and admire this work, the only version of The Scream that is not part of the collection of Norwegian museums.”

The painting will be the highlight of the auction of impressionists and modernists, which Sotheby’s will hold on May 2. Olsen said the proceeds will go towards the opening of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvststen, Norway, where his father and Munk lived next door.

If the final price of the painting is the projected $ 80 million - it will be remembered as one of the highest prices for painting. According to Sotheby’s, only eight paintings were auctioned for 80 million or more. The record was set by Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Picasso, who went under the hammer for $ 106.5 million at Christie’s auction in New York in 2010.

Director of the Oslo National Museum, Audun Eckhoff, in an interview with the Associated Press, said the Norwegian authorities approved the sale of Munch a few months ago. They found the solution acceptable, as several versions of Scream would still remain in Norway. Recall that one of the paintings under this name belongs to the National Museum, and two more to the Munch Museum, which is also located in Oslo.

In a press release, Sotheby’s states that of all four paintings of the same name, this pastel is the brightest. It is also known that only its fields were manually painted by an artist who wrote poems there that inspired him. In them, Munk says that he was trembling with despair and heard "the great cry of nature." This is a memorable event that occurred in the 1890s with the artist. He heard “a cry of nature” during an evening walk with friends in the hills near Oslo - and this experience formed the basis of his writing style: from now on, reality was not based on visual, but on psychological perception. In fact, “Scream” is the first landscape of sensations.

The painting will be on display at Sotheby’s in London starting April 13th. This will be the first time that the “Scream” will be brought to the capital of Great Britain. In New York, pastels can be seen from April 27.

The curator of the Munch Museum, Petra Pettersen, hopes that the one who buys the Scream will continue to exhibit the painting. “I hope that she does not disappear, and she can still be seen at exhibitions,” she shares.