Munch paintings recovered 2 years after bold theft

Police in Norway say they have recovered two Edvard Munch masterpieces, The Scream and Madonna, which have been missing for two years.

Masked gunmen seized the priceless paintings fromthe Munch Museum inOsloin a bold daylight raid in 2004.

The paintings are in better-than-expected condition, police said at a news conference on Thursday.

"The pictures came into our hands this afternoon after a successful police action," said Iver Stensrud, head of the police investigation.

"All that remains is an expert examination to confirm, with 100 per cent certainty, that these are the original paintings. We believe these are the originals."

Stensrudrefused to discuss how the paintings had been found or to let members of the media see the two works, but he reassured reporters in Oslo that the paintings are in good condition.

"I saw the paintings myself today, and there was far from the damage that could have been feared," he said.

Police arrestedsix men in connection with the heist, but were unable to find the stolen paintings, despite an international investigation.

Three of the men were convicted earlier this year and ordered to pay $135 million in damages to the city of Oslo, which owned the two paintings.

Police had little evidence from the scene of the crime and were forced to rely on information from telephone surveillance.

After the theft, carried out in daylight in front of museum patrons, there was speculation in the Norwegian media that the robbers may have destroyed the paintings by burning them.

The paintings were too well-known to resell on the legitimate art market, police said.

A pioneer of the early 20th century Expressionist movement, Munch created several versions of his key works, including The Scream, known for its anguished subject screaming under a lurid sunset sky.

He painted four versions of The Scream, all part of a series called "The Frieze of Life."

The original is in Oslo's National Gallery, while the stolen work the main reproduction and another version were given to the Munch Museum after the artist's death. A private collector owns the fourth.

The Munch Museum did a major upgrade of its security systems after the heist.