Dutch Police Arrest Suspect In Botched Art Theft Of Andy Warhol Screen Prints

05 November 2024 – 06:13

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police arrested a 23-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in a botched art heist at a gallery in the southern Netherlands that targeted four valuable Andy Warhol screen prints.

The arrest comes days after thieves broke open the door of an art gallery in the town of Oisterwijk last week and stole two works from a famous series of Warhol screen prints of former queens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Swaziland. which is now called Eswatini. Two more prints were left, badly damaged, in the street as the thieves fled.

In a brief statement, police did not say whether the missing artworks had been recovered in a series of raids in Oisterwijk and nearby towns and cities, including one in Belgium. A spokeswoman declined to provide further details.

Gallery owner Mark Peet Visser said the stolen works have not been found and a conservator is assessing the two damaged prints.

Last week, Visser said video footage of the theft showed the four prints were “damaged beyond repair” by what he described as “amateur” thieves who had to leave two of the prints behind because they couldn’t they fit in the getaway car.

Police said the suspect, who has not been identified under Dutch privacy rules, was detained in Berkel-Enschot, just six kilometers (four miles) from Oisterwijk.