The kidnapper of E. Munch’s painting “The Scream” died: he dreamed of becoming a world-famous art thief | Culture

The circumstances of his death remain unclear, but Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported that he died in Oslo.

Enger first went to prison at the age of 19, a year following making his professional football debut with Vålerenga. in 1988 he began stealing art and jewelry, including a semi-failed attempt to steal a version of The Scream from the National Gallery in Oslo.

Having misplaced the painting in the museum, Mr. Enger stole Munch’s other painting “Love and Pain” (1895), mistakenly named “Vampire”.

in 2023 in The Man Who Stole The Scream, a documentary regarding Mr. Enger’s life, he said that this miscalculation left him with a “frustration that lasted for days.” However, the associated danger and hiding from the police “started to be enjoyable”.

Mr. Enger served a four-year prison sentence for theft – not long enough to shake off the idea of ​​becoming a world-famous art thief.

He committed the most famous theft in 1994. On the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, when the painting The Scream was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo. The painting, at the time estimated at 55 million dollars, was recovered intact following Enger admitted to hiding it in his family home.

Over the years, Mr. Enger has been repeatedly convicted of art theft and drug-related crimes, and has continued to attract media attention. in 1999 he escaped from prison and gave interviews to news agencies and television stations, much to the indignation of the police. He was later arrested once more following “attracting attention by wearing sunglasses late at night”. in 2007 while in prison he started painting and debuted as an artist with a series of abstract paintings in 2011. these paintings were even presented in a gallery in Norway.

Despite the fact that he was engaged in artistic activities, Mr. Enger continued to carry out criminal activities. in 2015 he was arrested and charged with stealing 17 paintings from an Oslo gallery following leaving his wallet and ID at the crime scene.

His former lawyer, Nils Christian Nordhu, described him in the Dagbladet newspaper as a gentleman thief and said he would be missed.