Edvard Munch's 'Scream' headed for auction at Sotheby's A version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" will go on sale at a Sotheby's auction in New York and is expected to rake in $80 million or more. The sale, which was announced this week and is scheduled for May, will feature a version of the famous image created by the Norwegian artist in 1895. "The Scream" is being sold by Petter Olsen, a member of a prominent Norwegian shipping dynasty. The artwork is the only version of "The Scream" that still resides in private hands, according to reports. Two versions of the work belong to the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, while another is at the National Museum, also in Oslo. Olsen's father was a friend and patron of the artist. The Sotheby's sale is scheduled for May 2 and will be part of a larger auction of Impressionist and modern art. The auction house said in a release that this version of "The Scream" is a pastel-on-board work with a frame that was hand-painted by the artist to include a poem about the work's inspiration. Munch's paintings, drawings and prints are highly coveted by museums and collectors around the world. They are also highly coveted by art thieves, who have made headlines by pilfering a number of the artist's works from museums. Photo: A detail of "The Scream" (1895) by Edvard Munch. Credit: Sotheby's