For how much money (in US dollars) did a pastel version of "The Scream" sell in 2012?
Answer
$119.9 million
Answer
$119.9 million
A pastel version of “The Scream” sold for $119.9 million in 2012.
The work was the 1895 pastel-on-board version, owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen. It was sold at Sotheby’s in New York on 2 May 2012 to American financier Leon Black. The reported total, including the buyer’s premium, was US$119,922,500, commonly rounded to $119.9 million.
The sale set an auction record at the time, surpassing the previous record held by Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,” which had sold for $106.5 million in 2010. Bidding for Munch’s pastel began at $40 million and lasted more than 12 minutes. Sotheby’s had given it a presale estimate of $80 million.
This was not one of the two painted museum versions. Munch created two painted versions, from 1893 and 1910, and two pastel versions, from 1893 and 1895. The 1895 pastel was especially notable for its vivid colors and for being the only principal version not held by a Norwegian museum.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026