Wednesday, October 31, 2012

MoMA's Pastel Version of "The Scream"

"Jealousy 1"
"Melancholy" (1891)
"Self-portrait"
video of auction for "The Scream" at Sotheby's (by Associated Press)
Now on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art is the $120 million pastel version of Edvard Munch's iconic "The Scream." This is one of four versions of the famous painting. The other three versions are in Norway. Rafael Cardoso, the great-grandson of Berlin banker Hugo Simon who owned the piece in the 1920s and 1930s, told the Post that "his forbear had to sell the treasure when he was declared an enemy of the state and driven from Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933," explaining, "He was living under direct threat to his life." A historian at the Holocaust Museum in DC confirmed that during that time, "Jews were giving up what they couldn’t hide," which is probably why Simon had consigned the piece to a Swiss gallery. In addition to "The Scream", several prints by Munch are also on display including those pictured above. The exhibit continues through April 29 next year.

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