Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream [Hardcover]

"'Such was the nature of Edvard Munch's life that this book makes a gripping read. Prideaux provides a convincing sense of the psychological experiences of Munch and also the flavor of the times that he occupied.' John Milner, University of Newcastle"

'Already a successful novelist, [Prideaux] combines a scholar's precision with a writer's insight.'

'...it is packed with information and event. Few biographies of artists can be described as gripping. This often is.'

'...anyone who wants to know how and why [Munch] painted as he did should read this book.'

'...a magisterial portrait of a deeply troubled man. It is both humorous and tragic...'

'...[an] absorbing account of the social and intellectual forces...that Munch struggled against - or solicited - in order to create'.

'[A] marvellously detailed study of Munch's extraordinary life...'

'...a significant addition to the literature on the Norwegian artist...It is among Prideaux's achievements...'

'...excellent...highly detailed...fascinating'

'[Prideaux's] biography [has] a kind of sympathetic authority... [It] fills out the man behind the paintings.'

Although almost everyone recognizes Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream, hardly anyone knows much about the man. What kind of person could have created this universal image, one that so vividly expressed all the uncertainties of the twentieth century? What kind of experiences did he have? In this book, the first comprehensive biography of Edvard Munch in English, Sue Prideaux brings the artist fully to life. Combining a scholar's precision with a novelist's insight, she explores the events of his turbulent life and unerringly places his experiences in their intellectual, emotional, and spiritual contexts. With unlimited access to tens of thousands of Munch's papers, including his letters and diaries, Prideaux offers a portrait of the artist that is both intimate and moving. Munch sought to paint what he experienced rather than what he saw, and as his life often veered out of control his experiences were painful. Yet he painted throughout his long life, creating strange and dramatic works in which hysteria and violence lie barely concealed beneath the surface. An extraordinary genius, Munch connects with an audience that reaches around the world and across more than a century.

Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2006

Sue Prideaux is an art historian and the author of four novels.