COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Norwegian police say they have arrested two men in connection with the 2009 theft of a valuable work by Edvard Munch from an Oslo art dealer.
Police spokeswoman Unni Groendal said the men are suspected of handling stolen goods and face a pre-trial detention hearing later Wednesday. She said the men were arrested Monday and Tuesday in Oslo but were not suspected of carrying out the theft itself.
She added the hand-colored Munch lithography “Historien,” or “History,” was recovered Monday but declined to elaborate.
The Norwegian artist’s work has been a popular target for art thieves. The most notorious theft was in 2004 when gunmen stole the masterpieces “The Scream” and “Madonna” in a brazen midday raid on Oslo’s Munch Museum. They were recovered and lax museum security upgraded.