Level 2. Intermediate. The Scream sells for record price at auction. Warmer

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Phyllis Fleming
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1 1 Warmer Name ten famous artists and the title of a painting by each of them. Write your answers in the picture frames.

2 2 Find the information Scan the article to find the information. 1. What is the name and nationality of the painter? 2. What is the title of the painting? 3. What price was it recently sold for? 4. Where was it sold? 3 Key words Write the key words from the article next to the definitions below. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. Then find and underline the words in the article to read them in context. anxiety recognizable bidding expressionist icon imitated inspiration modest mortals proceeds bargain versions 1. ordinary people (para 1) 2. something you buy that costs much less than normal (para 1) 3. the process of offering sums of money for things, for example at an auction (para 2) 4. quite small, especially when compared with other things of the same type (para 3) 5. forms of something that are different from each other (para 4) 6. copied (para 5) 7. a worried feeling you have because you think something bad might happen (para 7) 8. someone who paints in a style that emphasizes emotions and reactions to things rather than objects as they really appear (para 7) 9. something that gives you new ideas and the enthusiasm to create something with them (para 8) 10. money that you make from selling something (para 9) 11. when you are able to immediately know what something is because you have seen it before (para 14) 12. something that is very famous and that people think represents a particular idea (para 14)

3 The Scream sells for record $120m at auction Edvard Munch s painting is bought by an unnamed telephone bidder during an auction at Sotheby s in New York Paul Harris 3 May, To mere mortals it didn t seem like a bargain. But someone, somewhere, has decided that owning a rare version of Edvard Munch s 1895 painting, The Scream, is worth paying $119.9 million. 2 The price, one of the highest ever paid for a work of art, was reached after just 12 minutes of bidding and paid by an anonymous bidder by telephone. 3 As the auctioneer s hammer came down at Sotheby s in New York, the crowd in the room cheered the remarkable event. Bidding had started at a quite modest $40 million with at least five bidders. Most of them stopped bidding as the price got very high. 4 The painting is one of only four versions of the work in existence and thought by many to be the best. It is one of only a very small number of artistic images that have moved from the world of high art to popular culture. 5 It has inspired film references, from the villain of the Scream slasher movies to a famous scene in Home Alone, where child star Macaulay Culkin imitated the painting s famous pose. 6 It is also very popular with the therapy industry, with its image of stress and terror. 7 This is not a beautiful landscape in Surrey or a harbour on the French Riviera. It is a representation of extreme anxiety. Imagine if a psychiatrist in London had this on their wall. It s a fantastic painting for their profession. Of course, they could not afford it, said Mark Winter, director of Munch Experts, a company that specializes in works by the Norwegian expressionist. 8 This version is the only one whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem explaining the work s inspiration. Munch described himself shivering with anxiety and feeling the great scream in nature. 9 It was sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend of the artist. Proceeds of the sale will pay for a new museum, art centre and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen s father and Munch were neighbours. 10 It is a unique chance for someone to acquire this version. It is the best of the four but you really need a national budget to buy it. And not the budget of a small country either, said Winter. 11 The Scream will join a small group of works of art that have sold for more than $100 million, including Picasso s Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust, which sold in 2010 for $106.5 million. 12 Yet even that high price feels like a bargain compared with the unbelievable $250 million paid by oil-rich Qatar for Paul Cezanne s The Card Players for a new art museum. 13 Simon Shaw, head of Sotheby s Impressionist and Modern Art in New York, said The Scream was one of the most important paintings to ever come from private hands on to the open market. 14 Instantly recognizable, this is one of the very few images that transcends art history and reaches a global icon. he said. Guardian News and Media 2012 First published in The Guardian, 03/05/12

4 4 Comprehension check Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article? Correct any statements that are false. 1. The highest price ever paid for a single painting is $119.9 million. 2. The buyer of The Scream is from Qatar. 3. The money from the sale of the painting will pay for an art gallery, a museum and a private clinic. 4. There are four other versions of this painting in existence. 5. The picture is well known to many people, not only those in the art world. 6. This version is special because it includes a poem written by the artist. 7. The poem is on the back of the painting. 5 Summarizing and retelling a. Look again at the key words from task 3. Find the words that come before or after them. 1. mortals 2. bargain 3. bidding 4. modest 5. versions 6. imitated 7. anxiety 8. expressionist 9. inspiration 10. proceeds 11. recognizable 12. icon b. Now (without looking at the article) use these words and phrases to retell the the article. 6 Discussion Discuss the questions below in small groups. Why are people willing to pay so much money for art? Would you want any of the paintings mentioned in the article hanging in your home? 7 Webquest Watch a short video of the auction. Munch s poem on this version of The Scream starts I was walking along the road with two friends How does it continue? Take a look at an interactive analysis of The Scream. Watch a slide show of the ten most expensive auctioned pieces of art.

5 KEY 1 Warmer Teacher s note: Turn this into a competitive task by getting the students to work in groups, setting a time limit of five minutes and giving points for each correct answer. 2 Find the information 1. Edvard Munch, Norwegian 2. The Scream 3. $119.9 million 4. at Sotheby s auction house in New York 3 Key words 1. mortals 2. bargain 3. bidding 4. modest 5. versions 6. imitated 7. anxiety 8. expressionist 9. inspiration 10. proceeds 11. recognizable 12. icon 4 Comprehension check 1. F Someone paid $250 million for The Card Players by Cezanne. 2. F The buyer is anonymous. 3. F The money from the sale of the painting will pay for an art centre, a museum and a hotel. 4. F There are three other versions of this painting in existence. 5. T 6. T 7. F The poem is on the frame. 5 Summarizing and retelling 1. mere mortals 2. a bargain minutes of bidding 4. quite modest 5. four versions 6. Macaulay Culkin imitated 7. extreme anxiety 8. Norwegian expressionist 9. the work s inspiration 10. proceeds of the sale 11. instantly recognizable 12. global icon 7 Webquest Teacher s note: If you do not have internet access in class then these tasks can be set as homework. Different translations of the poem can be found on several websites. For example: Alternatively, you can use this translation: I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun set, and the sky turned blood red. I felt a touch of melancholy, and stopped and leaned against the railing, feeling extremely fatigued. Blood-red clouds and tongues of fire were floating above the city and the blue-black fjord. My friends kept on walking, but I stood still, trembling with anxiety. I felt as if I were hearing the immense, infinite cry of nature.

Level 3. Advanced. The Scream sells for record price at auction. Warmer

Level 3. Advanced. The Scream sells for record price at auction. Warmer 1 Warmer Name ten famous artists and the title of a painting by each of them. Write your answers in the picture frames. 2 Find the information Scan the article to find the information. 1. What is the name