An art heist gone wrong may have left four Andy Warhol screen prints with irreparable damage.

On November 1, thieves broke into MPV Gallery in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, shortly after 3 a.m., according to the Art JournalThis is Senay Boztas. Residents say they heard a loud explosion followed by an alarm going off. The thieves set off explosives to enter the building and left with prints from Warhol’s book. Reigning queens series.

Created in the mid-1980s, the series includes portraits of four prominent queens: The Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth IIDenmark Margrethe IIthe queen of the Netherlands Beatrix and the Queen of Swaziland Ntombi Tfwala. The bright and colorful artworks were to be put on sale at an art fair in Amsterdam.

Experts say the criminals were careless in carrying out their crime and likely didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of what they were getting into.

“I think they were criminals who didn’t really specialize in art theft (but) saw an opportunity and thought, ‘Let’s steal them first and then see what we get.’ can do,’” art detective Arthur Brand told the newspaper. Art Journal.

The brand is famous for recovering important works of art, including a stolen painting by Vincent van Gogh. wrapped in an Ikea bagthat someone delivered to his apartment last year. This story had a happy ending. But in this case, he adds, “everything went wrong.”

The use of explosives in art thefts is neither typical nor wise. Surveillance footage shows the explosion may have damaged the artwork. Mark Peet Visserthe owner of the gallery, says Associated PressMike Corder that the “amateur” theft destroyed his building and damaged several nearby businesses.

When the attackers tried to flee with the four works of art, they realized they did not fit in the getaway car. They only took two of the portraits (Elizabeth and Margrethe), which they had to cut out of their frames. The other two (Beatrix and Ntombi Tfwala) were thrown carelessly into the street.

“At that point, the works are torn from the frames… we also know that they are damaged beyond repair, because it is impossible to take them out intact,” adds Visser.

The gallery owner tells Art Journal that only a limited number of people knew that the works were in the gallery. Although he did not comment on the value of the works, another portrait of Elizabeth by Warhol sold for more than $850,000 at Toronto’s Heffel Fine Art auction house ago two years, depending on ArtnetThis is Jo Lawson-Tancred.

Still, thieves are very unlikely to make that kind of profit. Now that the prints are damaged, they may be worth less. Moreover, Visser tells the Dutch media The latest news‘Faye van Os, Tom Tacken and Juliette D’Ours that the prints are numbered and cannot be sold on the open market.

“This heist was clearly ordered by someone who wanted to watch them tonight with a nice glass of wine at home, I think,” he told the publication, according to a translation by Artnet. “What else can they do with it now?” »

Earlier this week, police arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the theft, while the P.A. reports. Authorities have not released any information on the whereabouts of the stolen artworks, although Visser told the news agency they have not been recovered.