This Day in History

On May 7, 1994, authorities found Norway's most famous painting, Edvard Munch’s "The Scream," undamaged at a hotel in Asgardstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo, police said.

According to The History Channel, the 1893 painting of a screaming waif on a bridge had been stolen a few months before from an Oslo museum. It had been snatched during a February break-in on the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

In January 1996, four men were sentenced in connection with the theft, including Paal Enger, who had been convicted in 1988 of stealing Munch's "The Vampire" in Oslo.

Munch developed an emotionally charged style that served as an important forerunner of the 20th century Expressionist movement. He painted "The Scream" as part of his "Frieze of Life" series, in which sickness, death, fear, love and melancholy are central themes. He died in January 1944 at the age of 81.

Recently, one of four versions of "The Scream" sold for $119 million at auction by Sotheby's in New York, according to NPR. One of the best-selling spoofs of the painting shows Homer Simpson as the screaming figure on the bridge.