One of Norway’s largest collections of Edvard Munch paintings is up for sale after shipping heir and art enthusiast Petter Olsen was declared bankrupt.
The collection, which Olsen has previously called “the biggest private Munch collection in Norway,” includes several self-portraits of the artist.
His most famous work — the angst-ridden painting "The Scream," dating to the late 19th century — is not part of the lot. Olsen already sold one of four known copies in New York in 2012 for $119.9 million, making it the world’s most expensive work of art to sell at auction. The record has since been eclipsed.
Olsen, heir to shipping magnate Thomas Olsen, owes creditors about 780 million kroner ($75 million) and is selling the collection, said Leif Petter Madsen, the head of Olsen’s bankruptcy estate. None are sold yet, he told Bloomberg by text message Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by the Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv.