Theft of The Scream from the Munch Museum (2004)
On August 22, 2004, armed men take The Scream and Madonna from the Munch Museum in Oslo in broad daylight; the paintings return damaged two years later. The textbook case of armed theft during opening hours.
On Sunday, August 22, 2004, late in the morning, masked and armed men walk into the Munch Museum in Oslo in front of visitors, threaten the staff, take down The Scream and Madonna and drive off. The two paintings come back at the end of August 2006, damaged, with in particular a moisture mark on The Scream. According to press reports at the time, the works, owned by the city of Oslo, were not insured against theft. The museum then closes for several months to overhaul its security. There was a precedent: on February 12, 1994, the opening day of the Lillehammer Games, the National Gallery's version of The Scream had been taken at night through a window, then recovered in May. The two cases do not share the same profile. At night, protection rests on alarms and response times; in daylight, facing weapons, the guard does not resist, and the hanging system or the display case becomes the only barrier. Hence the weight fine art underwriters give to security as a condition of cover: anti-theft hanging, glazing, staff on the floor, a procedure in case of attack, with an exclusion or a sublimit if the declared level is not in place on the day of the loss. Armed theft adds a risk to people, hostages or injured staff, which falls under other policies. After restitution, the question becomes one of depreciation: a painting recovered and restored keeps the mark of the loss, on its condition report as on its market value. Not to be confused with activist vandalism of artworks, where the perpetrator stays on the spot and does not try to carry the work away.
Textbook case: a private collection insured for 20 million euros declares guarding during opening hours and anti-theft hanging. The policy carries a sublimit of 25% of the sum insured if the declared security is not in place on the day of the loss. A work worth 8 million is stolen at gunpoint while the anti-theft hanging had been removed for a rehang. The indemnity is capped at 25% of 20 million, or 5 million; the insured keeps 3 million.
Scream theft, Munch Museum robbery, theft of Munch's Madonna, 1994 Scream theft
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