The incident happened at a hotel near the center of Haugesund this summer, where he was visiting for work. The man had been in town and watched a football match with colleagues. He had drunk both beer and alcohol, according to the prosecutor. And the man estimated in court that his level of intoxication was nine on a scale where ten is the maximum. At 1 o’clock in the morning they returned to the hotel in question. The man then noticed three Andy Warhol paintings hanging on the wall by the hotel’s dining room. He first tried to tear down a picture from the wall, without success. See the surveillance images here. Then he walked over to the next painting and pulled it down from the wall. The painting had a size of one by one meter. Hiding it behind chairs, he took the picture into the lift and up to the room he had rented. The picture was placed in a nook in the hotel room, behind two chairs. The painting was part of a series of three pictures by the world-renowned artist Andy Warhol, and many years ago had a purchase value of NOK 600,000. The man hid the Warhol work in his hotel room behind two chairs in a corner. Photo: The police In the judgment from Haugaland and Sunnhordland district court, the court finds it beyond any doubt that the images had a value significantly above NOK 200,000. Furthermore, it is stated in the judgment that the paintings collectively have an implied value of NOK 1.3 million, according to sources on the internet. In that case, this means that the painting probably has a value of over NOK 400,000. The hotel set up emergency staff When the painting came loose from the wall, the burglar alarm was triggered. It was quickly discovered that one of the three Warhol paintings was missing, the hotel deployed emergency staff and the police were notified. Employees at the hotel also went through the surveillance camera, which showed the man carrying the painting up the stairs from the dining room and then entering the elevator with the painting under his arm. The next day, the maids found the painting in the man’s hotel room. In court he admitted what he had done. But he didn’t know why he had done it. Had hangover anxiety He stated that he woke up hungover the next morning, and suffered from hangover anxiety. The following day, he told a colleague about the incident, before he was approached by the police at work the same day. He has subsequently apologized for the incident to the hotel by e-mail. In court, the man stated that he did not know it was a Warhol painting when he stole it. But that he was familiar with another work the artist had produced. Gross theft In the judgment from the district court, the court writes that the relationship must be considered gross due to the value of the painting. They also point out that it is common knowledge that Warhol’s paintings rose considerably in value after the artist’s death. The court believes that the action appears spontaneous and poorly thought out. He was convicted of aggravated theft. The sentence was set at 60 days of community service. The judgment is not yet legally binding. Considering appeal The man’s lawyer Hanne Haraldseide Brekke informs news that they are considering whether to appeal the case further to the Court of Appeal. And for those wondering: The painting was not damaged, but the frame of the picture was damaged in the theft. Since it was in a series of three images, all three frames had to be replaced. Published 28.11.2024, at 13.57
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Hotel guest in Haugesund stole Andy Warhol painting worth several hundred thousand kroner – caught red-handed – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
