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Andy Warhol pieces stollen and damaged in explosive, “amateurish” heist at Netherlands art gallery

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Amsterdam — Two works by artist Andy Warhol were stolen during the night of Thursday to Friday from a gallery in the south of the Netherlands, while two other screenprints were abandoned nearby. The thieves used heavy explosives to break into the MPV Gallery in Oisterwijk in North Brabant province and took off with two screenprints showing former queens Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margrethe II of Denmark, Dutch media NOS reported.

Gallery owner Mark Peet Visser told The Associated Press that the thieves attempted to make off with all four works from Warhol’s 1985 series called “Reigning Queens,” which also features portraits of the then-queens of the Netherlands and the small African kingdom of Swaziland, which is now known as Eswatini.

APTOPIX Netherlands Warhol Queens at the Palace
Four artworks depicting Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, part of a series titled Reigning Queens by Andy Warhol, (1985), are seen on exhibit at the former Royal Palace turned museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, in an Oct. 9, 2024 file photo.

Peter Dejong/AP


Visser told the AP in a phone interview that the heist was captured on security cameras, and he called it “amateurish” for the brutish methods used to steal the prints.

“The bomb attack was so violent that my entire building was destroyed,” he told the news agency. “So, they did that part of it well, too well, actually, and then they ran to the car with the artworks and it turns out that they won’t fit in the car… 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.”

The works depicting former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Queen Ntombi Tfwala of Swaziland were found abandoned on the street.

“The entrance of the gallery was blown out and there was glass all around the building,” broadcaster NOS said.

Well-known Dutch art detective Arthur Brand said “it is strange that explosives were used.”

“That’s not common for art thefts,” said Brand, who has made headlines for recovering artworks including a missing Picasso and a stolen Van Gogh.

The “Reigning Queens” series by Pop Art pioneer Warhol was on display in the gallery before going on sale at the PAN Amsterdam art fair, which runs from November 24 to December 1.


Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn” sells at auction for $195 million

01:14

“The works are worth a considerable sum,” the owner of the gallery Mark Peet Visser told local media Omroep Brabant.

Brand, however, told AFP the stolen artworks were “not unique and most likely tens of them were made.”

“This makes it easier to sell than unique works, but not that much easier,” he said.

La MPV Gallery did not instantly respond to a request for comment by AFP.

The “Reigning Queens” series was created in 1985, two years before the American artist’s death, when all four queens were in power.  



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Harris condemns Trump over “violent rhetoric” about Liz Cheney; Maine family’s dogs spread autumn joy by jumping in leaf piles

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From the archives: British PM Margaret Thatcher joins Face the Nation

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From the archives: British PM Margaret Thatcher joins Face the Nation – CBS News


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In the midst of the Iran-Contra hearings on Capitol Hill, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joined Face the Nation in July of 1987. Moderator Lesley Stahl asked the prime minister about how the scandal had impacted U.S. relations with other countries across the world.

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Maui surfer loses part of leg in shark attack, officials say

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A shark bit a Maui surfer Friday morning and severed his leg, authorities said.

The man, 61, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park Friday morning in a surf spot known as Sand Piles when a shark bit him,” Maui County said in a news release. 

Police officers who arrived to the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets. His leg was “completely severed just below the knee,” officials said. 

Witnesses told CBS affiliate Hawaii News Now that other surfers helped the man swim back to shore.

“I heard this yell and I looked, and all of a sudden I just seen him splash, and I don’t know what was happening,” witness David Basques told Hawaii News Now. “…He swam himself back maybe more than half the way, and then I seen somebody jump in and they went bring him inside.”

The man was alert while being treated on shore and then taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition.

“I would like to commend the patient for his strength and wherewithal, getting himself to shore,” Maui Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea told reporters, according to KGMB. “I mean, that’s extraordinary. Whatever Good Samaritans offered assistance, I’d like to commend them as well.”

The incident prompted officials to close the beach park. Officials warned people to stay out of the water in the area. The public warning to stay out of the water for a mile in each direction of the incident will be in effect until at least noon Saturday. The warning will be extended if there is a shark sighting in the area.

Maui fire and ocean safety officials were patrolling the waters using rescue watercraft and a drone. State officials provided shark warning signs and helped with cordoning off the area.

There were no details provided on what kind of shark was involved.

In June, well-known surfer Tamayo Perry was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu’s North Shore.



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