Explosive Art Heist Rocks Gallery: Thieves Target Andy Warhol’s Royal Portraits
An explosive heist in the art world leaves Andy Warhol’s royal portraits damaged and abandoned in a frantic attempt at theft. 🌐 #News #Art #Crime
ST. PAUL, MN – Late-night thieves turned a quiet gallery in the south of the Netherlands into the scene of a chaotic art heist, using explosives to break into the MPV Gallery in Oisterwijk. Their target? Four screenprints from Andy Warhol’s Reigning Queens series, an iconic collection featuring royal portraits from 1985. Although the thieves aimed to steal the entire set, only two prints made it out of the gallery while the other two were abandoned nearby.
Artworks Damaged in Explosive Break-In
The stolen screenprints — images of former queens Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margrethe II of Denmark — were part of a highly prized series depicting female monarchs. The remaining two portraits, featuring other queens from the Netherlands and Eswatini, were left behind, showing signs of damage after being ripped from their frames.
Gallery owner Mark Peet Visser, who witnessed the aftermath, expressed frustration, describing the theft as unrefined and pointing to the reckless way the thieves damaged the prints in their rush to escape.
A Disastrous Attempt at a Clean Getaway
According to reports, the thieves triggered a powerful explosion to force their way inside, causing extensive structural damage to the gallery. After grabbing the artwork, they quickly discovered that their getaway vehicle couldn’t accommodate the large frames, resulting in a hasty and damaging removal process.
The screenprints, roughly handled, now bear visible damage, leaving questions about their restoration and future value.
Impact on the Gallery and the Art Community
Captured on security cameras, the heist has stunned the local art community and raised security concerns for other galleries. For Visser, the event is both troubling and costly, leaving him to assess not only the physical destruction but also the emotional toll of seeing Warhol’s work left in such a state.
He described the explosive nature of the break-in as excessive and unnecessary, suggesting that the entire operation lacked finesse.
In a single night, what was meant to be a smooth heist turned into a scene of destruction and damage. The ordeal highlights the risks and recklessness involved in targeting high-profile art, revealing the lengths thieves will go — and the risks they’re willing to take — in their pursuit of fame and fortune.
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