Art Profiles for Kids: Edvard Munch

Many people instantly recognize The Scream, a harrowing painting of a person in pain. It appears on countless posters, T-shirts, and coffee mugs. The main character in the Scream horror movies wears a Halloween mask modeled on the painting. The painting made headlines around the world when it was stolen twice - in 1994 and again in 2004.
Yet not many people are familiar with the artist, Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. When he was a child, he lost his mother and his sister to tuberculosis. With another sister on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Munch became familiar with death and mental anguish at a young age. These feelings are reflected in The Scream and much of his other masterpieces.
From his troubles, Munch sparked a new type of art called expressionism - and produced over 20,000 pieces. Read how this man became one of just a handful of artists to have an entire museum devoted exclusively to his works.