It's easy to see why art theft has historically been pretty popular: works of art worth millions are hung up for public inspection, are highly sought after, and are lightweight and easy to conceal. While most high-profile museums now have complex security systems, there always has and indeed there may always will be both the temptation and the demand for stolen works of art. This is the story of some of the most audacious, cunning and expensive art thefts ever.

Part 4: The Search for The Scream
Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is one of the most famous paintings in twentieth century art. In 2004 two robbers burst into the museum dedicated to the great Norwegian artist and ripped it and another Munch masterpiece, The Madonna, from the walls.

For weeks the two paintings were stored in an unlocked abandoned bus on a remote farm. But why would thieves target such an iconic image? How could they ever hope to sell such an instantly recognisable work of art? It turns out that masterpieces are stolen for many reasons.

This documentary unravels the extraordinary story behind the theft of The Scream and The Madonna. This was not a heist for arts sake or even for the money. Police are convinced that the daylight raid to steal the Munch paintings was linked to a ruthless armed robbery in which machine gun-carrying thieves killed a Norwegian policeman. They believe leaders of that gang ordered the theft of the paintings to divert police resources away from their investigation into the bank raid. But it didn't work: the leader of the bank raid is now in custody and three men have been convicted for their role in theft of the paintings.

Incredibly, this wasn't the first time Munch's Scream had been stolen. In 1994 another version of the same painting was stolen in Oslo in a night time break-in at the city's National Museum. That painting was eventually retrieved and is back on the museum's wall. However, The Scream and The Madonna from the 2004 heist are still missing...


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