Maashorst dumped 46 artworks in trash, including Warhol portrait of Queen Beatrix
The municipality of Maashorst has confirmed that 46 artworks, including a rare Andy Warhol silkscreen of Queen Beatrix, were likely discarded with the trash during the relocation of the former Uden town hall. The estimated value of the missing works is around 22,000 euros. The artworks are now presumed permanently lost, the result of years of administrative mismanagement, inadequate oversight, and poor storage practices, according to Omroep Brabant.
An investigation commissioned by the municipality revealed that the pieces, once part of the former Uden municipality's art collection, were improperly stored during the renovation of the town hall. The report indicated that several artworks were kept in rolling containers in the basement, where they were exposed to dust and water damage.
Among the most notable losses was the Warhol silkscreen of then-Princess Beatrix. The artwork, which was last seen in September 2023 with visible water damage, had vanished by October. “Somewhere during that period, the art must have ended up with the bulky waste,” said Mayor Hans van der Pas to Omroep Brabant. “You don’t treat valuable property this way. But it happened. We regret it deeply.”
The municipality filed a police report on the loss and hired an independent research firm to investigate. Their findings confirmed the suspicions of municipal officials: the missing artworks had likely been discarded as trash.
The lost pieces were part of a collection from the former Uden municipality, which merged with other local governments in 2022 to form Maashorst. Before the merger, the collection was inventoried, with some pieces loaned to Museum Krona in Uden, others placed in the new municipal building, and some returned to their original creators. However, 46 artworks, including the Warhol, disappeared in the process.
The investigation pointed to a series of administrative failures that contributed to the disappearance: No municipal employee had been tasked with safeguarding the art, and there were no formal policies for handling, registering, storing, conserving, or securing the pieces. Moreover, the municipality failed to act swiftly when the art was reported missing.
This issue follows a history of mishandling public art. In 2020, Maashorst announced plans to return 55 artworks to their original creators but struggled to track them down. After the move to the new town hall, additional pieces were misplaced, culminating in the current controversy.
Mayor Van der Pas expressed regret over the situation, acknowledging the serious implications of the loss. “It is a serious matter when public property—especially art with cultural and historic value—is treated so carelessly,” he said. “We will be reviewing our internal policies to ensure this never happens again.”
