The search has continued for two masterpiece paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch that were stolen in a daytime raid on an Oslo museum yesterday.
Norwegian police detective chief inspector Kjell Pedersen
Two masked robbers ran into the Munch Museum, threatened staff with a handgun and forced people to lie down before grabbing "The Scream", an icon of existential angst showing a waif-like figure against a blood-red sky, and "Madonna".
The pictures are among Munch's best-known, even though he produced several versions of both 1893 works. "Madonna" shows a mysterious bare-breasted woman with flowing black hair.
"We're following all possible leads . . . but we don't know who did this," police detective chief inspector Kjell Pedersen told a news conference.
The wooden frames of the paintings were found smashed and scattered along an Oslo street, and the car was found abandoned a few miles away with no trace of the paintings.
Art experts speculated the thieves might want a ransom as the works are too well known to be sold except to a reclusive collector.
Police cordoned off the museum, informed Interpol and alerted airports and border crossings. No shots were fired but a female guard was treated for shock.
Another, perhaps better-known, version of "The Scream" was stolen from Norway's National Gallery when thieves simply broke a window and climbed in with a ladder in February 1994 on the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
The version of "The Scream" stolen on Sunday is a fragile tempera and pastel on board. "It's impossible to say which is the best," said the head of the Munch Museum. A third, less well known, version is in private hands.
In 1994, the government refused to pay a ransom for "The Scream", and police caught the thieves and recovered the picture. One of those thieves, now out of jail, said via his lawyer that he was not involved on Sunday.
A Norwegian art expert estimated "The Scream" stolen on Sunday would fetch $60-$75 million if sold at auction and "Madonna" $15 million.