The piece was a part of Warhol’s 1985 series, Reigning Queens, which comprised sixteen unique prints. Each of the four queens in power at the time– Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; Queen Ntfombi Twala of Swaziland; and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands– had their official portraits stylized in four iterations, layered with Warhol’s abstract, brightly-colored blocks.
A “Royal edition” of the series also exists. These 30 additional prints were produced with ground-up glass applied to their wet surfaces, eliciting the illusion of diamond dust. However, what made this particular, now-missing piece all the more special is that it was created just two years before the artist’s death and is estimated to be worth between $40,000-$50,000.
Maashorst formed after the merging of Landerd and Uden. During this transition, the borough of Uden brought with it a collection of artworks. Inventory was taken, and somehow nearly 50 pieces of art– including this portrait of Queen Beatrix– suddenly went missing.
Following an investigation, local authorities concurred that the collection likely had been improperly stored in the basement of the town hall, as the building had been undergoing renovations. Though the art disposal is speculated to have occurred during this construction, no concrete evidence has been provided, and officials deemed the investigation inconclusive.
