Norway honours Munch with 'The Scream' stamp

OSLO - Norway is celebrating the 150th anniversary of expressionist painter Edvard Munch's birth with postage stamps of his most famous compositions, including "The Scream" — the world's most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.

Norway Post spokesman Hilde Ebeltoft-Skaugrud says that four stamps of Munch's works, including his 1895 classic "Madonna," and a miniature sheet will go on sale Friday.

Ebeltoft-Skaugard said Wednesday that "The Scream" had not been on stamps before because it hadn't become synonymous "40 or 50 years ago" with Munch as it has done today.

Munch, who died in 1944, painted four versions of "The Scream." The one used for the 20-kroner ($3.60) stamp is at the National Museum in Oslo.

In May, an anonymous private collector paid $120 million for "The Scream" at Sotheby's.