OSLO, Norway — Three stolen works of art by Edvard Munch were recovered yesterday, less than 24 hours after thieves pried them loose from the walls of an upscale restaurant in the second theft of the Norwegian master's work in less than seven months.

A 1915 watercolor called "Blue Dress" and two lithographs were stolen from the walls of the restaurant of the Refnes Hotel near the city of Moss, about 30 miles south of Oslo, late Sunday, said Jan Pedersen of the local police.

Munch developed an emotionally charged painting style that was of great importance in the birth of the 20th-century Expressionist movement. He died in 1944 at the age of 80.

In August, the artist's masterpieces, "The Scream" and "Madonna," were stolen in a brazen daylight raid from an Oslo museum by three armed robbers and have yet to be recovered.

"There are no grounds for assuming any connection between the thefts, but we will be talking to the Oslo police about it," Pedersen said.

Iver Stensrud, of the Oslo police, also said several arrests had been made. He declined to be more specific or say what condition the stolen watercolor and two lithographs were in.

Munch expert and auctioneer Knut Forsberg estimated the items were valued at more than $257,000, with "Blue Dress" being the most valuable because it is unique.

"It's a big deal in Norway, but it's not exactly a world sensation," Forsberg said.

Pedersen said a hotel worker went into the restaurant about 11 p.m. Sunday and surprised two people who had removed the pictures from the wall.

"They dropped one and broke the frame and glass, but took the picture," Pedersen said.

The hotel's owner, Widar Salbuvik, said the works were part of a 400-piece collection, including another four by Munch, displayed in the restaurant. The hotel is on the island of Jeloey, where Munch lived and worked from 1913 until 1916, when he moved to Oslo.

"It seems to be a fashion among criminals to steal Munch," Salbuvik told state radio NRK. "How professional is it to steal art? Great value, big risk and hard to sell. They would have to be very slow in the head to do it."

In 1994, another version of "The Scream" was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo and was recovered a few months later in a sting operation.