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The Edvard Munch paintings "The Scream" and "Madonna," which two armed robbers yanked from the wall of a museum here in August 2004, were recovered in relatively good condition during a police operation Thursday afternoon.
No arrests were made and the case remains far from solved, with the police saying little apart from confirming that the pictures were safe. But Norwegians rejoiced in the return of two of their most treasured artworks.
"We're open for champagne tonight to anyone who wants to come by and celebrate," said Knut Forsberg, chairman of Blomqvist Fine Arts, which served as Munch's main gallery while he lived.
Art lovers and public officials said they were relieved not only by the paintings' recovery but by the relative lack of damage to them. Last year, the tabloid newspaper Dagbladet had quoted underworld sources as saying: "The paintings are burned up."
Iver Stensrud, assistant chief of the Oslo police, said Thursday: "I have seen the pictures myself and as for damages, they are far from what we really could have feared."
Erling Lae, the commissioner of Oslo's city government, was more specific after meeting with administrators of the Munch Museum, where the pictures were stolen on Aug. 22, 2004, as tourists cowered on the floor.
"We know that both pictures have been handled roughly and that 'Madonna' has received a scratch or gouge, but I have been informed that the damages are not irreparable," he said.
In a news conference, the police said conservators would use scientific techniques to certify that the paintings in hand were genuine. But Gro Balas, Oslo's director of cultural affairs, said on the state-run NRK television network that everyone involved was "practically certain" of the works' authenticity.
Their combined insured value was put at $121 million, although some experts have said "The Scream" alone could bring more than $100 million at auction
The police declined to say what led to the paintings' recovery or even where in Norway the action took place. NRK cited sources who said it occurred "in the Oslo area."
Reports have long circulated in the Norwegian media of a connection between the Munch robbery and a robbery four months earlier in Stavanger in which a police officer was killed and more than $9 million in cash was stolen from a cash-handling service. Last week it was reported that David Tosca, 30, in prison for organizing the Stavanger robbery, had offered to provide information about the Munch paintings in exchange for more favorable conditions in prison.
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