A Dutch town hall has admitted it “most likely” threw away dozens of pieces of art, including a print by Andy Warhol.
Maashorst municipality said it believes the missing works of art were “accidentally disposed of with bulky waste”.
“It is not expected that the works of art will be found again,” the Dutch authority admitted.
It added: “The board of mayor and aldermen regrets this very much.”
The artworks included a 1980s silkscreen print of the former Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix, by Warhol.
Dutch media reported that 46 pieces of art were lost in total, and some of these had been stored in wheelie bins in the basement of the town hall.
Read more from Sky News:
Inside Pope Francis’s final farewell
Kashmir row could lead to ‘all-out war’
Five people wounded in Amsterdam stabbing, police say
One person killed and several hurt after explosion in The Hague
Organised crime gang members jailed after helping smuggle up to £7bn worth of drugs into UK
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The pieces of art disappeared after a reorganisation of two previously separate municipalities, Uden and Landerd, and the renovation of a town hall.
Various pieces of art reportedly suffered dust and water damage during the renovation, including the Warhol, which was last seen in September 2023. A month later, it was said to be gone.
Explaining how this might have come about, Maashorst said that no one was properly assigned as responsible for the art, with a failure of policy and procedures.
There was also said to be “insufficient rapid action” when it was first discovered that the artworks were missing.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
The conclusions were reached after an independent agency conducted a months-long investigation into the incident.
In November last year, “amateurish” thieves blew open the doors of a gallery in the Netherlands and made off with a number of Warhol prints.
They got away with prints of Queen Elizabeth II and Margrethe II of Denmark, but prints of Queen Beatrix and Ntombi Tfwala, who is now known as the queen mother of Eswatini, were abandoned.
