Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Gemma Middleton •
Published: 01 Nov 2024 • 15:43
• 2 minutes read
In a scene reminiscent of a Laural and Hardy sketch, amateur thieves broke into an art gallery in the southern Netherlands. They attempted to steal the entire collection of four pieces from a 1985 Warhol series called “Reigning Queens.” However, they failed, miserably, and ended up escaping with two of them and leaving two on the road outside because they damaged them while trying to force them into their getaway car.
The thieves got away with portraits of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margrethe II of Denmark. They damaged and left behind the remaining two screen prints of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Ntombi Tfwala, now known as the queen mother of Eswatini. Andy Warhol, who is famous for his ‘pop art’ designed the prints in 1985, and the owner of the gallery, Mark Peet Visser, planned to sell the prints at an art fair in Amsterdam that will take place later this month.
Not only did the thieves damage half of the collection because they broke the frames while trying to force them into their small car, but they were also caught on security cameras. The thieves broke into the MPV Gallery, located in the town of Oisterwijk, by blowing up the front door. Mark Peet Visser said in an interview “The bomb attack was so violent that my entire building was destroyed and nearby stores were also damaged. So they did that part of it well, too well actually. And then they ran to the car with the artwork and it turned out that they won t fit in the car.”
Visser also believes the two prints they did escape with are also damaged, and therefore worthless. “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 of the gallery undamaged.” The theft happened during the early hours of November 1st, and police appealed for witnesses as forensic experts examined the badly damaged gallery in the hope of finding evidence that might help to identify who the thieves were. It is believed that although the entire incident was captured on CCTV it has not been possible to identify them as their faces were covered.
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Written by
Gemma Middleton
Gemma is a content writer, teacher and screenwriter who has lived in Spain for 16 years. She’s now enjoying her time as an ’empty nester’
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