A Dutch town hall believes a 1985 silkscreen of the Dutch queen created by Andy Warhol was among nearly 50 artworks “most likely” thrown away when the building was renovated last year.
Investigators in the Netherlands said 46 pieces of art that were informally stored in a basement were likely mistaken for trash, according to the BBC.
Maashorst Mayor Hans van der Pas reportedly acknowledged to local media that it’s unfortunate the lost pieces were mistreated.
“But it happened,” he said. “We regret that.”
The missing Warhol was believed to have been worth more that $17,000. It depicted Queen Beatrix who wore the crown from 1980 to 2013. The piece was part of Warhol’s “Reigning Queens” series. He died in 1987.
The town hall’s entire collection of likely discarded pieces was worth more than $30,000.
Some of the artworks were carelessly stored in wheelie bins, local media said. Investigators found “no policies and procedures were established regarding the renovation” and sufficient action wasn’t taken when the pieces were noticed missing.
