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Posted on 04/25/2025 4:05:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Dutch municipality has admitted it likely threw away dozens of artworks by mistake, including a rare Andy Warhol print of Queen Beatrix, during town hall renovations last year.
The incident occurred in Uden, which merged with Landerd in 2022 to form the new Maashorst municipality. Local officials said 46 artworks were placed in storage during the building work, but were probably discarded with construction waste.
In a statement released Thursday, the municipality said, “It’s most likely that the artworks were accidentally taken away with the trash.” One of the missing items, a Warhol silkscreen from the 1980s, was estimated to be worth €15,000 (USD 17,069). The total loss is valued at around €22,000 (USD 25,035).
Investigation reveals mismanagement and lack of procedures
An internal investigation found that the missing artworks had been stored in basement wheelie bins and were “not handled with care,” according to a Dutch newspaper. Investigators said officials failed to establish ownership of the items and had no clear policies for cataloguing or safeguarding them.
Grecian Delight supports Greece
The report noted that no procedures were in place for tracking, storing, or preserving the artworks. When the pieces were discovered missing, the municipality took limited action. The investigation concluded that poor planning, weak oversight, and a lack of accountability led to the loss.
Mayor Hans van der Pas acknowledged the mistake in an interview with public broadcaster Omroep Brabant. “That’s not how you treat valuables,” he said. “But it happened. We regret that.”
The lost print was part of Warhol’s Reigning Queens series, created in 1985, two years before the artist’s death. The series includes portraits of four royal figures: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Ntombi Twala of Eswatini, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Queen Beatrix served as the Dutch monarch from 1980 until 2013, when she stepped down in favor of her son, King Willem-Alexander.
Second incident involving Beatrix print raises concerns This isn’t the first time a Warhol print of Queen Beatrix has made headlines in the Netherlands. In November 2023, thieves stole four Warhol silkscreens from the MPV Gallery in North Brabant.
Two prints – those of Queen Beatrix and Queen Ntombi – were later abandoned because they didn’t fit in the thieves’ car, according to public broadcaster NOS.
With one Warhol print discarded and another narrowly spared in a failed heist, concern is growing over how high-value artworks are handled by public institutions. The Maashorst municipality has pledged to review its storage and cataloguing processes to prevent similar losses in the future.
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Govt is folks of the highest IQ
Oops we accidentally destroyed them. We definitely didn’t sell any.
Being half Dutch, I’ve always thought his work was $hit too.
When you confuse trash with artwork it might say the trash was pretty nice or the artwork was trash...................
Usually, we see the trash in the museums as art.
Sure you did, Dutch municipality.. Riiiggghhhhtt.
No loss of any significance to the art world.
Some years ago my rather small town had to announce that the local government was missing $2M. They told us (about a million times) that it DEFINITELY had not been embezzled by anyone. DEFINITELY not stolen. It was an accounting mistake. The $2M went *POOF*, but -- in case you were wondering -- it was DEFINITELY not embezzled by anyone. No sirree.
Or, if I wanted to steal some valuable artwork, I might “claim” it accidentally went out into the trash. Or, my dog ate it. Or..
Next time send people of culture to clean out the back room.
Definitely not!
Nothing was lost.
Anyone remember Art Buchwald? He wrote a column where he went to an art show and sat down a bag of groceries he was carrying. When he came back to the groceries, the groceries had just won first prize. What clinched it was a can of Campbell’s soup laying on its side.
So he came back a week later with a bag of gourmet groceries and the critics panned it as pretentious.
Poor guy couldn’t win.
Warhole ran an art factory... reproducing his concepts. Overpriced for sure.
The art isn’t what’s on the canvas. The art is in getting someone to buy it.
Isn’t that QE II?
PHEW! At least they weren’t Bob Ross paintings! Now thaT would be a loss
It was trash, so they treated it as trash.
A stroll down the hall of an elementary school sure reminds me of Picasso.
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