Edward Munch's painting The Scream has sold for $120m (£74m)
at a Sotheby's auction in New York. The Scream is the Norwegian artist's most
recognised work. The 1895 painting, which is one of only four versions of the
work in existence and widely regarded as the best, is one of a handful of
artistic images that have crossed over from the world of high art to popular
culture
It hardly seemed
like a bargain but someone, somewhere, has decided that owning a rare version
of Edvard Munch's 1895 painting, The Scream, was worth shelling out an
eye-watering $119.9m (£74m). Check this Video of Auction in New York.
The price, one of the highest ever paid for a work of art, was
reached after just 12 minutes of bidding and paid by a so-far anonymous
telephone bidder.
As the auctioneer's gavel came down at Sotheby's in New
York, the crowd in the room cheered the remarkable event. Bidding had started
at a relatively modest $50m with at least five interested parties but the field
narrowed as the price sky-rocketed.
One of only four versions of the work in existence and widely
regarded as the best, the painting sold on Thursday night is one of a handful
of artistic images that have crossed over from the world of high art to popular
culture.
It has inspired film references, from the knife-wielding villain
of the Scream slasher movies to a famous scene in Home Alone, where child star
Macauley Culkin imitated the painting's famous pose.
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| The Scream by Edward Munch's |
It is also celebrated by the therapy industry with its horrific
depiction of stress and terror.
"This is not a a beautiful landscape in Surrey or a harbour
on the French Riviera. It is a representation of extreme anxiety. Imagine if a
shrink in London had this on their wall. It's a fantastic painting for their
profession. Of course, they could not afford it," said Mark Winter,
director of Munch Experts, a company specialising in appraising and valuing works
by the Norwegian expressionist.
This version is the only one whose frame was hand-painted by the
artist to include his poem explaining the work's inspiration. Munch described
himself "shivering with anxiety" and feeling "the great scream
in nature".
It was sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father
was a friend and patron of the artist. Proceeds of the sale will fund a new
museum, art centre and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen's father and
Munch were neighbours.
"It is a unique chance for someone to acquire this version.
It is the crown jewel of the four but you really need a national budget to buy
it. And not the budget of a small country either," said Winter.
The Scream will join a select group of works that have sold for
more than $100m, including Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust, which sold
in 2010 for $106.5m.
Yet even that hefty price tag feels like a snip compared with
the staggering $250m paid by oil-rich Qatar to snag Paul Cezanne's The Card
Players for a new art museum. Details of the deal struck in 2011 only emerged
earlier this year.
Simon Shaw, head of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art in
New York, said the work was one of the most important to ever emerge from
private hands on to the open market.
"Instantly recognisable, this is one of the very few images
which transcends art history and reaches a global icon. The Scream arguably
embodies even greater power today than when it was conceived," he said.
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