Petter Olsen, the Norwegian shipping heir and art enthusiast, is selling his extensive collection of Edvard Munch artworks following his recent bankruptcy.
Leif Petter Madsen, the head of Olsen’s bankruptcy estate said Olsen, heir to shipping magnate Thomas Olsen, owes creditors about 780 million kroner ($75 million) and is selling the collection.
None are sold yet, he told Bloomberg by text message on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv.
Once considered one of Norway’s richest men, Olsen’s financial downfall has left him with heavy debts.
As a result, his prized Munch collection, which he has described as “the biggest private Munch collection in Norway,” is now up for sale.
The collection includes several significant self-portraits of the famous Norwegian painter, though Munch’s iconic masterpiece The Scream is not part of the lot.
Olsen had already sold one of four known versions of The Scream in 2012 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for a staggering $119.9 million, making it, at the time, the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
Although the Munch Museum in Oslo has expressed interest in acquiring parts of Olsen’s collection, budget constraints might hinder any potential purchase, Bloomberg said.
“The museum is interested in the paintings,” confirmed Director Tone Hansen to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, “but we don’t have the budget to buy them.”
No specific details about the upcoming sale have been released yet.
Olsen won a bitter court battle against older brother
Petter Olsen, now 76, is a member of the Olsen shipping family who owns Fred. Olsen & Co. He was once among Norway’s wealthiest individuals, with a net worth of 4.5 billion kroner in 1996, according to business magazine Kapital.
However, failed real estate investments, including his ambitious museum project at Munch’s birthplace, coupled with tax claims, eventually depleted much of his fortune.
Olsen’s collection has a deep personal connection to his family’s history.
His father, Thomas Fredrik Olsen, was a close friend and early patron of Edvard Munch.
Thomas Olsen acquired many of Munch’s significant works, including The Madonna and one version of The Scream, which was famously hidden in a barn during World War II to protect it from the Nazi invasion of Norway.
In 2001, Petter Olsen won a bitter court battle against his older brother, Fred Olsen, over the Munch paintings.
Fred, a successful shipping magnate and business tycoon, sought half of the 34 Munch pieces, which were estimated to be worth one billion kroner at the time.
However, Petter emerged victorious and retained control of the collection.
Petter’s sale of The Scream in 2012, to billionaire Leon Black, made headlines worldwide, and now the remaining pieces in his collection are drawing renewed interest.
Fred sold most of his collection in 2006 for $29.5 million, though two Munch paintings hang in his Oslo home today.
Despite their long-standing family feuds, Fred and Petter Olsen have both left an indelible mark on Norway’s art and shipping industries.
While Fred focused on expanding the family’s business empire, Petter dedicated himself to preserving their father’s legacy as a patron of Munch’s art.
As one of Norway’s largest private collections of Munch’s work, its sale could mark the end of the Olsen family’s longstanding role as key custodians of the artist’s legacy.
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