The Scream (Munch, 1893)

Norwegian artist Edvard Munch created four versions of The Scream between 1893 and 1910, combining oil paint, tempera, and pastel to depict a figure of existential anguish against a blood-red sky. One version sold at Sotheby's New York in May 2012 for $119.9 million (then a world auction record), while the National Gallery of Norway's version was famously stolen in 1994 and recovered months later. The Scream's central image has become the universal symbol of modern anxiety.