Munch’s ‘The Scream’ is so well known and such a strong part of collective consciousness it has almost become a visual cliché. But therein lies its power, because it transcends culture to speak to almost everybody, exploring as it does a fundamental aspect of the human condition. You just can’t ignore it or make it go away.

The last of the four versions which is not already in a museum is expected to fetch $80 million when it is sold this spring.

Image from The Times, where there is also a brief interview with Yayoi Kusama. Quote from her autobiography ‘Infinity Net’ (also via The Times):

“Whenever my mother was on the warpath, I would take refuge in the lavatory… I drew vaginas that had been chewed by dogs and penises that were smeared with cat excrement.”