Selling The Scream

Photos courtesy of AFP, AP and EPA

Created by Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch, The Scream is the name given to four versions of one of the world’s most famous artworks. On May 2, the only privately owned version of The Scream sold for a record price at an auction in New York City.

Read the following story from the Bangkok Post about this exciting sale.

In just 12 minutes at the Sotheby’s public auction in New York, heated competition between seven bidders took the price of The Scream to $119.9 million (3.7 billion baht), the highest ever for a work of art.

PRICEY PAINTINGS

Sotheby’s auctioneer Tobias Meyer announced that the sale was a world record after bringing down the hammer. The previous record was held by Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust painting, which sold for $106.5 million (3.3 billion baht) in 2010.

The pastel-on-board version The Scream was sold by Norwegian Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and supporter of Edvard Munch. Olsen plans to use to money to establish a new art museum in Norway.

ICONIC ART

The four versions of The Scream present a nightmarish vision of a central figure surrounded by swirling colours that symbolise the existential angst and despair of the modern age.

On two occasions, other versions of the painting have been stolen from museums, although both were eventually recovered. Copies of the famous work have been used to decorate everything from walls to book covers, coffee mugs and T-shirts.

The version of The Scream sold on May 2 was created in 1895 and features a poem inscribed by Munch which describes his work as being inspired by “the great scream in nature.”

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Exercises

Write down the noun forms of the following vocabulary words used in the story.

1. Decorate.	.........................................................................
2. Iconic.	.........................................................................
3. Establish.	.........................................................................
4. Symbolise.	.........................................................................