Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch was creator of one of the world's most haunting images, The Scream (its most famous version was painted in 1893), which has scared many a young art lover witless. The thousands of letters, sketches, prints, and paintings that make up this collection of memorabilia were left to the city of Oslo by the great man himself, and the exhibition throws considerable light upon Munch's career and (not always savory) character. Currently housed in a spare, white gallery in Tøyen, exhibits from Munch's papers are rotated every few months so it can be potluck as to what is on display; The Scream is in the Norwegian National Gallery although there are several different versions of the picture to be seen here.

In 2013 it was announced that a much bigger museum dedicated to Munch's work will open in 2017 on the new waterfront at Byørvika, close to the gleaming new opera house; this may do his works justice in a way that the present gallery does not.