The Scream, by Edvard Munch. Lithograph, 1895.

Today, from our "artists who need a hug" series, comes Edvard Munch, creator of The Scream. I was hesitant to do The Scream, being as everyone has already seen it, and it kind of degrades Munch's work because all of the other great art he's made ends up being ignored. However, I thought I could show you something you probably haven't seen, one of Munch's lithographs, which you might actually find more haunting. (Just look at those beady little eyes.) The actual title, Geschrei, could really be translated in a few ways, and is sometimes called The Cry or The Shriek. The inscription at the bottom, "Ich fuhlte das grosse Geschrei durch die Natur," roughly translates to "I feel the large cry through nature." (Hey, there are two ways I can use my German: by translating the names of German artworks, and working out what the Nazis are saying in Indiana Jones movies.)

There are actually four painted versions of The Scream, each one done on cardboard, the poor man's canvas. Two of those four versions have been stolen. In 1994, just before the Winter Olympic games, one Scream was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway. It was held for a ransom of one million dollars, which the Norwegian government refused to pay, and The Scream was safely recovered a few months later. Another version of the painting, this one in Oslo's Munch Museum, was stolen in 2004, along with Munch's Madonna. Suspects are currently on trial, but no one has given up the goods.

Should you want to see one of the four originals of The Scream, you'll have to travel to Norway to do it. (Unless you find an art thief selling the missing Scream on the black market.) Of the two copies that haven't been stolen, one is privately owned by a Norwegian billionaire, and the other is in the Munch Museum. I suppose it's fair that one of the Screams from the Munch Museum was stolen, seeing as they're so greedy that they felt they needed two. Bastards.

A quick bonus: check out a work very similar to The Scream, Munch's piece Despair. Or check out another one, Anxiety. Actually, just head on over to Olga's Gallery - she's got an awesome Munch collection.