Edvard Munch nature." He later described the personal anguish behind the painting, "for several years I was almost mad… You know my picture, 'The Scream?' I was stretched to the limit—nature was screaming in my blood… After that I gave up hope ever of being able to love again." In summing up the painting's effects, author Martha Tedeschi has stated: "Whistler's Mother", Wood's "American Gothic", Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Edvard Munch's "The Scream" have all achieved something that most paintings—regardless of their art historical importance, beauty, or monetary value—have not: they communicate a specific meaning almost immediately to almost every
Sigurd Willoch director of the National Gallery of Norway from 1946 to 1973. He wrote considerably about Norwegian art and artists dating from the 19th century, including works about artists Olaf Isaachsen, Edvard Munch, Hugo Lous Mohr (1889–1970), August Cappelen (1827–1852) and Thomas Fearnley (1802–1842). He also produced works which focused on the Art Society in Oslo and the National Gallery of Norway. He served on the National Gallery Board 1952-76, was a member and sometimes chairman of the Norwegian unit of Scandinavian Museum Association 1946-71, Norwegian member of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA) from 1958 to 1973 and represented