The Artful Jurist

What is it about the paintings of Edvard Munch that makes them regular targets of art thieves? And, perhaps more importantly, why do these thieves repeatedly manage to successfully steal the Norwegian master's work from the museums that house them?

It made news a few years ago when Munch's classic works, "The Scream" and "Madonna", were pilfered in broad daylight from the Munch museum in Oslo. And that wasn't the first time "The Scream" was stolen, either. Okay, the paintings were eventually recovered. But c'mon! You'd think security would have clamped down pretty tight after the first attempt.

Apparently not tight enough. This past week another Munch was stolen. This time it's a lithograph titled "History." It was stolen when thieves broke a gallery window and just snatched it.

Maybe this is why Munch's most famous work is of a figure who just stands there screaming.