When I saw Edvard Munch's Scream at a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' 2016 exhibit, I had no idea 1 (oil) of its 4 versions (2 oil + 2 pastel, the latter as shown at the photograph to the right) had been stolen and returned. Would-be-theologian, turned Scotland Yard "art theft detective," Charles "Charley" Hill tracked down this artwork, among many others, during his storied career, returning them to art museums and collectors, alike.
Hill died last month, on February 20, 2021. In a 2012 interview, he was quoted as saying,
“Art is part, in substance and theory, of the values we have as human beings. There are 7 or 8 billion of us, and we need art, especially great art and architecture, literature and ideas and traditions to help us be and become more fully human. I think that is our common, even though warring or conflicting, humanity. In my opinion, art is God given.”
We couldn't agree more.
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