Edvard Munch/Sotheby’s Auction House, via Associated Press 
 
 A version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” one of the most recognizable images in art history, sold at Sotheby’s on Wednesday night for just under $120 million, the most ever paid for an artwork at auction. The image has become part of pop culture, "used by everyone from Warhol to Hollywood to cartoons to teacups and T-shirts," said Michael Frahm of the London-based art advisory service firm Frahm Ltd. 
 
 "Together with the Mona Lisa, it's the most famous and recognized image in art history," he added. Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of the artist, said he sold the piece because he felt "the moment has come to offer the rest of the world the chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work." Munch made four versions of “The Scream,” three of which are now in Norwegian museums; the one that sold on Wednesday, a pastel on board from 1895, was the only one still in private hands.
– The experts thought Edvard Munch's The Scream would bring in a princely sum, but not this much: $119.9 million. That's the most ever paid for a painting at auction, reports the New York Times. (The previous record was $106.5 million for a Picasso, notes AP.) No word yet on who bought the 1895 painting at Sotheby's. Five bidders were in contention, and the winning bid came via the telephone.