St. Olaf College's mysterious painting could be worth $6 million

A mysterious woman gazes out of a gold frame at St. Olaf College. Her painted form is pale and slender in a draping black dress, with dark, wavy hair and placidly downturned eyes. For nearly 20 years, she has been hanging on the wall in the college president’s house, presiding over a messy, unfinished void in the righthand corner of the canvas.

And she could be worth $6 million.

This painting is a portrait of the young violinist Eva Mudocci, who, for a brief time in 1903, had a romantic relationship with expressionist painter Edvard Munch. You’re probably familiar with Munch’s work even if you don’t know it. He painted The Scream – featuring a cadaverous figure slapping both hands on either side of his head like the kid from Home Alone.

For years, St. Olaf has been trying to figure out whether the portrait was painted by Munch. Auction records and correspondence seem to imply he might have. But proving it is harder than you might think. In December, experts at the Munch Museum in Oslo declined to come examine it, claiming they were in the middle of a building project and their curators were busy.

Read more: http://www.citypages.com/news/st-olaf-colleges-mysterious-painting-could-be-worth-6-million/508382141

Cross-posted in the Artists Group.


Could this portrait of a violinist be the work of the same man who painted "The Scream?"