Pål Enger

Pål Enger is a Norwegian artist, former athlete and career criminal who rose to fame in Norway and abroad after the brazen theft of the Edvard Munch paintings "Scream" and "Love and Pain". Growing up in Oslo, he fell inn with Tveitagjengen, a criminal gang that grew out of the Tveita area in Oslo in the mid 80's. By age 16, he'd been convicted of his first crime, and by 19 he served his first term at Ullersmo Prison. Pål Enger was a promising soccer player, with among other an appearance in the UEFA Champions League for the team Vålerenga at age 19. After serving out his prison term for the theft of "Love and Pain" he tried restarting his career, but never returned to the top tier. On the 23rd of February 1988, Pål Enger climbed through a window at the Munch museum in Oslo, and stole the painting "Love and Pain". Later that year, he committed the biggest burglary in Norwegian history at the time, breaking into the Tostrup jewelers, making off with 4.8 million NOK (735,000 USD by 1988 currency rates) in merchandise. On the 12th of February 1994, he masterminded the theft of Scream from the National Gallery. While serving a prison term in 2007, Pål Enger took up painting. First animals and vehicles, and later abstract works. In 2011, he opened his own show with a series of abstract paintings.