American artist Andy Warhol’s works, known as the master of pop art, were recently stolen by gunmen at an art museum in the Netherlands. The gunmen tried to take the four works, but they left the two, which could not be put in the vehicle because of their size, and ran away.
According to the BBC on the 1st (local time), gunmen broke into the MPV gallery of the art museum in North Brabant, the Netherlands, and disappeared with two works of Warhol. Local police said the gunmen used explosives to break into the museum, causing great damage not only to the museum but also to surrounding buildings.
The stolen works were identified as two from Warhol’s silk-screened “Reigning Queens” series, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and a portrait of a former Danish queen Margrethe II. The two artworks that the unidentified armed men tried to take are a portrait of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and a portrait of Queen Mtombie Twala of Eswatini, who changed her name from Swaziland.
The four works targeted for theft were being stored at the museum ahead of the launch of the ‘PAN Amsterdam’ art fair art product sale event to be held later this month.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
