Daring art thieves used explosives to break into a Dutch art gallery and steal a print of Queen Elizabeth II by renowned visual artist Andy Warhol.
The thieves blew out the gallery door to gain entry and made off with two prints from an iconic set of four known as the ‘Reigning Queens’, leaving the last two canvases badly damaged in the street.
The MPV Gallery in Oisterwijk, North Brabant, saw glass blown through the building as the group of ‘amateurish’ thieves used heavy explosives in a tactic described as ‘strange’ by prominent Dutch art detective Arthur Brand.
Brand, who previously made headlines for recovering works of art such as a missing Picasso and the stolen Van Gogh, noted how unique this heist was.
Warhol’s series ‘Reigning Queens’ was on display at the gallery ahead of its planned auction at the PAN Amsterdam Art Fair later this month.
The print of Queen Elizabeth II was one of two pieces that art thieves successfully made off with during a brazen heist in the Dutch town of Oisterwijk
The painting was part of Andy Warhol’s famous ‘Reigning Queens’ series, which was due to be sold later this month
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands looks at her print from the Warhol series. It was the other work that allowed the thieves to successfully escape
Gallery owner Mark Peet Visser told local media that the collection was expected to fetch ‘a considerable amount’.
However, art inspector Brand disputed this claim, claiming that the stolen art was likely only one of a number of copies made.
Visser added that the bombing had been so “violent” that neighboring buildings were damaged.
In addition to Queen Elizabeth II, the ‘reigning queens’ also included Margrethe II of Denmark, Beatrix of the Netherlands and Ntombi Tfwala of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).
All four were in power in 1985 when the American pop artist created the series.
Police are continuing their investigation into the botched robbery, with forensic experts examining the remains of the gallery on Friday.