Edvard Munch's THE SCREAM sells at auction for record $119,922,500

[wfgodot]

Munch did four paintings of "The Scream"; this is the only copy in private hands. The others are in museums in Norway.

Iconic 'Scream' painting fetches a whopping $119 million at auction

It's the stuff of nightmares - and it was sold for $119,922,500 million.

Edvard Munch's impressionist masterpiece, The Scream, was put up for auction at Sotheby's in New York City this evening and was sold for a record-breaking price.

Mr Munch beat out Pablo Picasso for the most expensive artwork ever auctioned.
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Everyone from Andy Warhol to the creators of The Simpsons have paid homage to the defining painting of human angst.

Sotheby's expected the price to exceed $80 million, but $119 million beat out everyone's wildest expectations.
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This edition, the most vibrant of the four, has a hand-painted poem inscribed on the frame of the work:

'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'.
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more, with pictures, of course, at Daily Mail link above

The Scream

 

[Kat]

I hope the new owner shares it with the world by allowing it to be at museums and doesn't lock it away. JMHO

 

[Nova]

What a shame that Munch's most famous work had to be sold in order to fund a Munch museum. Haven't we taken this whole "privatization" thing too far?

"The Scream" should belong to everyone, but at least to the people of Norway. Maybe the buyer will donate it.

 

[arielilane]

Such an incredible piece of art. Gorgeous!

 

[wfgodot]

As Hamlet opined, art holds the mirror up to nature.

 

[Quiche]

I saw some of this on the news yesterday and a woman was waxing poetic about the beauty of The Scream and how she could stare at it for hours and hours... For me, however, I find it extremely unsettling! A descent into insanity that hollows out the core of me and drains my brain of all ease-- certainly not something I could spend hours and hours with! :what:

It's always brought up the human condition that is madness... but wow, didn't it look incredible on that inky black background? I agree with you all, it should be in a public museum, let's hope that's where it goes. :crossfingers: