To Catch a Thief

People in the art and design world will remember the brazen and shocking heist at the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway in 2004. Armed robbers stole Edvard Munch's internationally recognized paintings "The Scream" and his scandalous, bare-breasted "Madonna." The paintings were tracked down by James Bond-like art sleuths and returned to the museum in 2006. (There must be a film in this somewhere.) The two paintings were displayed for 5 days, during which period an astonishing 5,500 people turned out to view them.

The drama surrounding these famous paintings continued after their return. Each was seriously damaged. The art world's efforts to restore and save them were heroic. Here is a brief and interesting piece on the intricate, micro-millimeter, process of restoring these world renown paintings which, after two years of labor, are now again on display at the Munch Museum.