A rare postcard featuring a hand-painted sketch by Edvard Munch will be auctioned by Hess Fine Auctions on February 22, with an estimated value of $20,000 to $40,000. The postcard, dated January 9, 1912, features a depiction of a man and a dog hand painted on the front of the post card, and is signed by Munch, with a message addressed to artist Thorolf Holmboe that reads: “Thank you for the New Years card from you and your wife and happy New Year again”.
This piece is accredited in the Edvard Munch Tekster Digitalt Arkiv as PN 1309 and comes from the collection of a Norwegian Olympic doctor’s American residence, now passed down to his family. The estate also included another Munch painting, reportedly sold for around $1 million, though specific sale details remain unavailable.
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Edvard Munch, a Norwegian painter best known for The Scream, explored themes of anxiety, love, and death through emotionally charged works. Born in 1863, his early life was shaped by the deaths of his mother and father, which deeply influenced his art. Munch’s expressive use of colour and symbolism helped pave the way for modern expressionism. While his work was controversial, it gained widespread recognition, and his legacy was strengthened by Swedish collector Ernest Thiel, who amassed one of the largest Munch collections outside Norway. Thiel’s admiration for Munch’s radical vision helped elevate his reputation across Europe, cementing his status as a pioneer of modern art.
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His paintings achieved impressive prices at auction, with The Scream achieving a record $119.9 million when the 1895 pastel version was sold at Sotheby’s in New York on May 2, 2012. The painting was consigned by Norwegian entrepreneur Petter Olsen, who inherited it from his mother’s art collection. It was purchased by American entrepreneur and art collector Leon Black, a board member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA.