Photo Credit (Pixabay)
The owner of the gallery claims that the robbers were compelled to abandon two artworks by the famous American pop artist when they were unable to secure them in their vehicle while in the Netherlands.
At the museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, a man snaps a photo of a screen print of Queen Elizabeth II, one of sixteen prints of four queens called Reigning Queens, 1985, created by Andy Warhol. The print is similar to one that was stolen from a gallery in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, on Friday morning.
A screen print of Queen Elizabeth II by Andy Warhol was stolen in a failed gallery theft in the Netherlands by “amateurish” robbers.
According to gallery owner Mark Peet Visser, the robbers forced their way inside the establishment and made off with two pieces belonging to the famous American pop artist.
After realizing they wouldn’t fit in the getaway car, the robbers left two more prints badly damaged in the street, he added.
In his account of the “amateurish” heist, Mr. Visser stated that security cameras caught the entire incident.
Remarkably, “the bomb attack was so violent that my entire building was destroyed,” according to the gallery owner, who also mentioned that surrounding establishments had suffered damage.
In a similar vein to a Warhol piece that was stolen from a gallery in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, early Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, a collection of sixteen screen prints representing Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, part of Andy Warhol’s 1985 series Reigning Queens, will be on display at the museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
A screen print of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II was also stolen. Photo credit: A
“So they did that part of it well, too well actually,” according to him.
They hurried to get the prints into the car, only to discover that it wouldn’t fit.
“At that moment the works are ripped out of the frames, and you also know that they are damaged beyond repair because it is impossible to get them out undamaged.”
Early on Friday morning, shoplifters targeted the MPV Gallery in Oisterwijk, a town in the Netherlands.
They were trying to take four pieces from Warhol’s 1985 series Reigning Queens, according to Mr. Visser.
Among the monarchs shown in the series were those of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Swaziland (formerly known as Eswatini).
According to Mr. Visser, the robbers made off with the Danish royal portraits of Margaret II and Elizabeth II.
Unfortunately, the prints of the Dutch queen Beatrix and the now-recognized queen mother of Eswatini, Ntombi Tfwala, were left behind.
