Andy Warhol paintings stolen in Dutch gallery heist

Two artworks by the American creator Andy Warhol person been stolen during an overnight break-in astatine a assemblage successful the Netherlands.

The incidental took spot astatine the MPV Gallery successful the North Brabant province.

The thieves primitively took 4 silkscreens from Warhol's Reigning Queens bid but abandoned 2 nearby, the assemblage proprietor told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

The works taken are of the precocious Queen Elizabeth II and of Margrethe II, who was Queen of Denmark until her abdication earlier this year.

Local police, who are investigating, said it appeared that determination had been immoderate signifier of detonation and that determination was a batch of harm to the assemblage and surrounding buildings. The thieves are said to person fled successful a car.

According to NOS, 2 different prints successful the series, depicting Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Queen Ntombi Tfwala of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, were abandoned due to the fact that they did not acceptable successful the vehicle.

The 4 artworks were being kept astatine the assemblage up of the PAN Amsterdam creation just aboriginal this month, wherever they were to beryllium enactment up for merchantability arsenic a set.

They are portion of a bid of 16 silk screens of the 4 queens that Warhol, who is considered 1 of the top artists of the 20th Century, created successful 1985 - 2 years earlier his death.

Two of the works depicting Queen Elizabeth II sold for much than £500,000 each astatine Sotheby's auction location successful 2022.