A police officer investigates at an Oslo gallery, the site of a robbery of a rare Edvard Munch lithograph. (Lise Aaserud/AFP/Getty Images)A rare lithograph is the latest valuable art work by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch stolen in Oslo, Norway.

One or more thieves smashed the window of an Oslo art dealer last week and stole the 1914 Munch work Historien (History), local police announced.

According to art dealer Pascal Nybourg, there are other copies of the work — which depicts an old man reading to a child — in existence. However, the stolen work is rare because Munch had hand-coloured sections of the piece, he said.

It is estimated to be worth about two million kroner, or nearly $360,000 Cdn.

Police found a van they believed was used by the thief (or thieves) abandoned in a wealthy Oslo neighbourhood. It had been stolen about 10 days earlier.

A police spokeswoman said Friday that evidence suggested that the heist was carefully planned.

The works of 20th century expressionist master Munch is often targeted by thieves in Norway, including when armed gunman staged a brash midday raid on the Munch Museum and stole a version of his masterpiece, The Scream, and another work, Madonna. Both were eventually recovered in 2006.

With files from The Associated Press