What Happened On February 12th?

It was February 12th, 1994, the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. With attention focused on the world’s most renown athletes, something even chillier was going down within the walls of Oslo’s National Gallery. Two masked figures, each armed with a pistol and a wire cutter, entered the museum shortly after 11:00 AM, despite it being the middle of the day. Their target was more valuable than the gold medals: Edvard Munch‘s, “The Scream.”

Within minutes, the thieves swiftly ripped the expressionist’s artwork from its display and sarcastically left a note behind that read, “Thanks for the poor security!” Their escape was almost comical, and witnesses described the two as clumsy, as they carried the massive painting away in a getaway car.

“The Scream” wasn’t just a valuable artwork; it was a national treasure, a symbol of Norwegian culture. Painted 4 years after Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” Munch’s masterpiece resembled art from a revolutionary time. So, the ease of the thieves’ execution was a mockery!

The investigation that followed was a rollercoaster ride. Theories swirled – was it a politically motivated act, a ransom attempt, or simply the work of opportunistic thieves?

After three months of agonizing uncertainty, “The Scream” was miraculously found unharmed in a hotel room near Oslo. The perpetrators turned out to be two art students fueled by boredom and a desire for notoriety; they were eventually apprehended and punished.

Although the heist obviously violated the sanctity of art, it more so questioned security measures around the world. “The Scream” was eventually returned to the public eye, but its “silent scream” reminds us of how vulnerable art really is.