Munch Museum (MUNCH)

The Munch Museum (now called MUNCH after its 2021 relocation to a striking 13-floor tower on the waterfront at Bjørvika) holds the world's most comprehensive collection of Edvard Munch's work — nearly 28,000 items bequeathed by the artist to the City of Oslo when he died in 1944. The collection includes several versions of The Scream, along with the full range of Munch's unsettling, emotionally raw output.

The new building is architecturally interesting and the views over the Oslofjord are excellent. The permanent collection is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, which rewards browsing. Temporary exhibitions bring in major international contemporary artists. The museum is on the same waterfront strip as the Opera House and the new Deichman Library, making a natural half-day walk along the regenerated harbourfront.

things to do museum
A story
"The Scream" exists in four versions — two pastels and two oil paintings — all made by Munch in the 1890s. The most famous is the one on display here: the 1910 oil version. In 1994, two thieves removed it from the wall in front of security staff, walked out, and left a note saying "Thank you for the poor security." It was recovered three months later. A second version was stolen in 2004 and recovered in 2006. Munch himself wrote that he felt "an infinite scream passing through nature" while walking at sunset — not a personal scream, but the world's.