Second Munch artwork stolen in Oslo

Nov 18, 2009, 7:36 GMT

Oslo - A previously unreported theft of a lithography by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch was disclosed Wednesday by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

Titled Separation II, the lithography was stolen from an Oslo art gallery sometime in June. NRK discovered a report of the missing work during a search of Interpol's database of stolen art.

Worth 2.5 million kroner (447,000 dollars), the theft likely took place between June 12 and June 25 when the art gallery moved to new premises.

'We don't know exactly how and when it occurred but the theft was discovered June 25,' Thomas Berntsen of the art gallery Kaare Berntsen told NRK.

Police said they had kept a low profile in the case because the gallery owner did not want publicity.

Last week a Munch lithography titled History, worth 2 million kroner, was stolen from another Oslo art gallery.

Munch, who lived from 1863 to 1944, is considered one of Europe's most important expressionist artists.

In 2004, two of his most famous paintings - The Scream and The Madonna - were stolen by armed robbers from the Munch Museum in Oslo.

The masterpieces were recovered in 2006.