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Pål Enger | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1967-03-26)26 March 1967 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 29 June 2024(2024-06-29) (aged 57) |
| Occupation(s) | Football player Art thief Painter |
| Years active | 1977–2024 |
| Known for | Theft ofThe Scream andLove and Pain |
Pål Enger (26 March 1967 – 29 June 2024) was a Norwegian art thief who was best known forstealing the paintingsThe Scream andLove and Pain byEdvard Munch.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][excessive citations] In his early life, he played football forVålerenga Fotball.
Growing up, Enger was part of the core of the criminalTveita gang [no] led by the money collectorJan Kvalen [no], which led to a sentence of one year for profiteering as a 16-year-old. When he was 19, he served his first sentence at Ullersmo prison.
In his teenage years, Enger was a promising footballer forVålerenga Fotball. When he was 19, he played three matches as a substitute for Vålerenga's first team: twice in theNorwegian first division, and once in theUEFA Cup. After serving three years in prison for the theft ofLove and Pain, Enger tried to take up football again in 1991, playing forMercantile in the third tier of Norwegian football.
On 23 February 1988, Enger climbed into a window at theMunch Museum in Oslo and stole the paintingLove and Pain byEdvard Munch. In the same year, he was behind the biggest theft of its kind when he broke into the jeweller's shop Tostrup on Karl Johans gate and stole goods worth NOK 4.8 million. On 12 February 1994, he stoleThe Scream by Edvard Munch from theNational Gallery.
He was also convicted of a number of other profiteering, traffic and drug offences, after a number of traffic offences.
In December 2015, Enger was charged with stealing a total of 17 paintings from the Fineart gallery atAker brygge in Oslo. Twelve of the pictures were made byHariton Pushwagner, the other artworks are made byVebjørn Sand andBjarne Melgaard. According toDagbladet, a wallet with Enger's ID was found in the gallery. Enger pleaded partially guilty and admitted stealing five Pushwagner pictures.
Enger started painting during a prison stay in 2007, first animals and vehicles, and then abstract motifs. In March 2011, he opened his own art exhibition with a number of abstract works.
In a 2012 interview, Enger claimed that the paintingThe Scream had become world-famous because of him.[9]
Enger died on 29 June 2024, at the age of 57.[10][11]