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Pål Enger

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Pål Enger
Born(1967-03-26)26 March 1967
Oslo, Norway
Died29 June 2024 (aged 57)
Occupation(s)Football player
Art thief
Painter
Years active1977–2024
Known forTheft of The Scream and Love and Pain

Pål Enger (26 March 1967 – 29 June 2024) was a Norwegian art thief who is best known for stealing the paintings The Scream and Love and Pain by Edvard Munch.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] In his early life, he played football for Vålerenga Fotball.

Early life and football[edit]

Growing up, Enger was part of the core of the criminal Tveita gang [no] led by the money collector Jan Kvalen [no], which led to a sentence of one year for profiteering as a 16-year-old. When he was 19, he served his first sentence at Ullersmo prison.

In his teenage years, Enger was a promising footballer for Vålerenga Fotball. When he was 19, he played three matches as a substitute for Vålerenga’s first team: twice in the Norwegian first division, and once in the UEFA Cup. After serving three years in prison for the theft of Love and Pain, Enger tried to take up football again in 1991, playing for Mercantile in the third tier of Norwegian football.

Art thefts[edit]

On 23 February 1988, Enger climbed into a window at the Munch Museum in Oslo and stole the painting Love and Pain by Edvard Munch. In the same year, he was behind the biggest theft of his kind when he broke into the jeweller's shop Tostrup on Karl Johans gate and stole goods worth NOK 4.8 million. On 12 February 1994, he stole The Scream by Edvard Munch from the National Gallery.

He has also been convicted of a number of other profiteering, traffic and drug offences, after a number of traffic offences.

In December 2015, Enger was charged with stealing a total of 17 paintings from the Fineart gallery at Aker brygge in Oslo. Twelve of the pictures were made by Hariton Pushwagner, the other artworks are made by Vebjørn Sand and Bjarne Melgaard. According to Dagbladet, a wallet with Enger's ID was found in the gallery. Enger pleaded partially guilty and admitted stealing five Pushwagner pictures.

Enger started painting during a prison stay in 2007, first animals and vehicles, and then abstract motifs. In March 2011, he opened his own art exhibition with a number of abstract works.

In a 2012 interview, Enger claimed that the painting The Scream had become world famous because of him.[9]

Enger died on 29 June 2024, at the age of 57.[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "- Jeg var som Beckham er nå". ndttavisen.no. 2 February 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Master plan". The Guardian. theguardian.com. 13 June 2005. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. ^ Olé, Diario Deportivo (24 February 2023). "La curiosa historia del futbolista que robó uno de los cuadros más icónicos". Olé (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Kunsttyv og spøkefugl". VG. 25 February 2003. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023.
  5. ^ "'I was there': Theft of Munch's 'The Scream' in 1994". BBC Radio 5 Live Daily. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023.
  6. ^ Taylor, Daniel (16 March 2021). "The footballer turned art thief who stole The Scream". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  7. ^ Hultgreen, Gunnar (1 November 2017). "Pål Enger: Fra "Skrik" til Hollywood" [Pål Enger: From "Scream" to Hollywood]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  8. ^ Jarlsbo, Rønnaug (5 February 2008). "Tyven fra Tveita" [The thief from Tveita]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  9. ^ Bergmo, Tonje; Vartdal, Åsa (28 April 2012). "Pål Enger: Det var jeg som gjorde Skrik berømt". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  10. ^ Eriksen, Daniel (30 June 2024). "Pål Enger er død". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Pål Enger er død". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 30 June 2024. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.

External links[edit]

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