OSLO, May 7 -- 'The Scream,' Edvard Munch's famed expressionist painting that was stolen on the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Norway, was found Saturday in a hotel room south of the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Corp. (NRK) reports three people were arrested when police found the painting in the town of Asgardstrand, south of Oslo.
Police have not identified the suspects, and did not say if they were responsible for the theft of the painting from the National Gallery in Oslo on Feb. 12.
The painting's disappearance, at a time when the eyes of the world were on Norway for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, baffled police. The thieves used a ladder to climb into the gallery, where security was lax, and took the painting intact in its frame from the wall. Since the theft, security at the museum has been upgraded and new windows have been installed.
Police said the trail that led them to the painting began last week, when parts of the frame were found a few miles outside of Oslo.
NRK said the painting was reported to be in good condition.
Norwegian officials had received a ransom demand of $1 million for the painting shortly after its theft, but refused to pay for its return. It was not clear if the suspects arrested Saturday were behind the demand.
Munch's 1893 work is one of the world's most famous paintings, and is regarded as a national treasure in Norway. The depiction of a sinewy figure in despair has become one of the most marketed art images in the world, gracing T-shirts and a variety of other products.
Munch said in 1895 that the painting depicts the moment when 'alone, trembling with anguish, I became aware of the infinite cry of nature.'
