Introduction

In 1985, Andy Warhol embarked on his largest portfolio of screen-prints. Titled Reigning Queens, Warhol chose to focus his creative attention on the four female monarchs who were ruling in the world at the time, having assumed their respective thrones through birth right alone rather than marriage. These four figures included Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland. Based on official or media photographs of these monarchs, the screen-print portfolio consists of four color variants of each queen, amounting to sixteen images in total. The screen-prints were created using a photographic silkscreen technique central to Warhol’s practice, employed profusely in both his prints and paintings.

Warhol produced two editions of the Reigning Queens portfolio: forty ‘Standard Edition’ prints and thirty ‘Royal Edition’ prints. Screen-prints from the ‘Royal Edition’ were adorned with ‘diamond dust’ – fine particles of ground up glass that sparkle in the light like diamonds – adding a glamor and extravagance to these images and further emphasizing the regal allure of Warhol’s iconic subjects. The Reigning Queens series brings together many themes central to Warhol’s oeuvre, such as portraiture, celebrity, and consumerism.

Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980, until she abdicated in favor of her eldest son, the current King Willem-Alexander, in 2013. Beatrix comes from a line of reigning queens, succeeding her mother, Queen Juliana (reigned 1948-1980), who in turn succeeded Queen Wilhelmina (reigned 1890-1948), Beatrix’s maternal grandmother. Warhol’s screen-print appropriates an official portrait of Queen Beatrix taken during the celebrations for her inauguration.

Beatrix is pictured wearing Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara, thought to be her favorite due to the frequency with which she selected it for royal engagements. The tiara itself is also a rich symbol of female power within the Dutch monarchy. Originally commissioned for Beatrix’s great-grandmother, it has passed down through the three subsequent generations of reigning queens. In addition to referencing this emblem of ruling women in the Dutch monarchy, Warhol also adds graphic shapes of flat color to his portrait of Queen Beatrix – an intervention that became more frequent in the artist’s work from the mid-1970s. In this specific colorway, the most prominent rectangle that bisects Queen Beatrix’s portrait is a vivid orange, which poignantly alludes to the color of the Dutch Royal Family and the monarch’s heritage as a descendant of the House of Orange.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 1985

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands
from Reigning Queens

Portfolio of 4 screenprints in colors
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Year: 1985
Sheet: 39 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches (100×80 cm)
Edition: 40
Artist’s Proofs: 10 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 5 PP
Hors Commerce: 3 HC
Trial Proofs: 30 TP containing only one image of each Queen
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith New-York
Publisher: George C.P. Mulder, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Literature: Feldman & Shellmann II.338-341

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (Royal Edition)
from Reigning Queens

Portfolio of 4 screenprints in colors on Lenox Museum Board with diamond dust
Edition: 30
Artist’s Proofs: 5 AP
Literature: Feldman & Shellmann II.338A-341A

1. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (F&S II.338)

2. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (F&S II.339)

3. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (F&S II.340)

4. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (F&S II.341)

2025 Auction Results

Queen Beatrix (F&S II.338), 1985

Vendenhuis: 15 October 2025
Estimated: EUR 5,000 – 7,000
EUR 24,000 (Hammer)
EUR 31,200 / USD 36,310

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix (Feldman, Schellmann 338), 1985
from Reigning Queens series
Silkscreen in colours, unframed, 100×80 cm
Signed and numbered in pencil ’38/40′ (lower right)

Queen Beatrix (Royal Edition) (F&S II.341A), 1985

Christie’s London: 25 September 2025
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 30,480 / USD 41,010
ROYAL EDITION

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (Feldman & Schellmann II.341A), 1985
From: Reigning Queens (Royal Edition)
Screenprint in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered R 22/30 (there were also five artist’s proofs)

2024 Auction Results

#1. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.339), 1985

#2. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.341), 1985

Christie’s online: 27 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 30,240 / USD 38,196

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix, from: Reigning Queens, 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered 31/40 (there were also ten artist’s proofs)

2023 Auction Results

#1. Queen Beatrix (Royal Edition) (F&S II.338A), 1985

#3. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.340), 1985

Vendenhuis: 19 October 2023
Estimated: EUR 12,000 – 16,000
EUR 15,000 (Hammer)
EUR 19,500 / USD 20,650

2022 Auction Results

#1. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.339), 1985

Vendenhuis: 19 October 2022
Estimated: EUR 30,000 – 40,000
EUR 32,000 (Hammer)
EUR 41,600 / USD 40,630

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (F.Feldman, J.Schellmann II.339), 1985
from the series ‘Reigning Queens’
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox museum board
Signed and numbered ’23/40 Andy Warhol’ (lower right)
Stamped with the artist’s copyright (on the reverse)

#2. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.341), 1985

ANDY WARHOL
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, from Reigning Queens, 1985
Screen-print in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered ‘9/40’ in pencil
With the artist’s copyright ink stamp on the reverse

2021 Auction Results

#1. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.338-341), 1985

Venduehuis The Hague: 20 October 2021
Estimated: EUR 80,000 – 100,000
EUR 175,000 (Hammer)
EUR 217,900 / USD 253,265
ROYAL EDITION
COMPLETE SET

#2. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.339), 1985

Phillips London: 21 January 2021
Estimated: GBP 15,000 – 20,000
GBP 40,320 / USD 55,310

#3. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.339), 1985

Vendenhuis: 20 October 2021
Estimated: EUR 10,000 – 15,000
EUR 26,000 (Hammer)
EUR 33,800 / USD 39,410

#4. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.338), 1985

Sotheby’s London: 15 September 2021
Estimated: GBP 15,000 – 20,000
GBP 27,720 / USD 38,330

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Queen Beatrix (F. & S. II.338), from Reigning Queens, 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered 32/40 (total edition includes ten artist’s proofs)

#5. Queen Beatrix (F&S II.340), 1985

Vendenhuis: 19 October 2022
Estimated: EUR 30,000 – 40,000
EUR 32,000 (Hammer)
EUR 41,600 / USD 40,630

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (F.Feldman, J.Schellmann II.339), 1985
from the series ‘Reigning Queens’
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox museum board
Signed and numbered ’23/40 Andy Warhol’ (lower right)
Stamped with the artist’s copyright (on the reverse)

Vendenhuis: 20 October 2021
Estimated: EUR 10,000 – 15,000
EUR 26,000 (Hammer)
EUR 33,800 / USD 39,410

Phillips London: 21 January 2021
Estimated: GBP 15,000 – 20,000
GBP 40,320 / USD 55,310

Vendenhuis: 19 October 2023
Estimated: EUR 12,000 – 16,000
EUR 15,000 (Hammer)
EUR 19,500 / USD 20,650

ANDY WARHOL
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, from Reigning Queens, 1985
Screen-print in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered ‘9/40’ in pencil
With the artist’s copyright ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 23 October 2019
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 25,000
ROYAL EDITION

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix, from Reigning Queens (Royal Edition), 1985
Screenprint in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered ‘RAP 2/5’ (an artist’s proof, the edition was 30)

Queen Beatrix (Trial Proofs)

Queen Beatrix (TP 2/30), 1985

Vendenhuis: 18 October 2023
Estimated: EUR 40,000 – 60,000
EUR 40,000 (Hammer)
EUR 52,000 / USD 54,780
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL (1928 ‐ 1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, from the series ‘Reigning Queens’
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox museum board
Signed and numbered ‘TP 2/30 Andy Warhol’ (lower right)
Stamped with the artist’s copyright (on the reverse)
A trial proof in a unique color variant numbered from the trial proof edition of 30

Queen Beatrix (TP 30/30), 1985

Bukowskis Stockholm: 14 November 2013
Estimated: SEK 200,000 – 250,000
SEK 250,000 / USD 37,580
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 1985
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered TP 30/30

Queen Beatrix (TP 13/30), 1985

Christie’s Amsterdam: 16 April 2013
Estimated: EUR 15,000 – 20,000
EUR 27,500 / USD 36,250
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (from Reigning Queens (F.S. 341)), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered TP 13/30
A trial proof aside from the edition of forty (there were also ten artist’s proofs)

Queen Beatrix (TP 26/30), 1985

Christie’s London: 1 October 2008
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 25,000 / USD 44,440
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL
Queen Beatrix, from Reigning Queens (cf. F. & S. IIB. 338-341), 1985
Screenprint in color on Lenox Museum Board
A unique color variant, signed in pencil, numbered TP 26/30
A trial proof aside from the edition of forty (there were also ten artist’s proofs)

Complete Sets

Venduehuis The Hague: 20 October 2021
Estimated: EUR 80,000 – 100,000
EUR 175,000 (Hammer)
EUR 217,900 / USD 253,265
COMPLETE SET

Christie’s New-York: 28 October 2009
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 98,500
COMPLETE SET

ANDY WARHOL
Reigning Queens (Royal Edition): Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (F. & S. II.338A-341A), 1985
The set of four screenprints in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
Each signed in pencil, numbered R14/30 (there were also 5 artist’s proofs for each)

Christie’s Amsterdam: 4 December 2007
Estimated: EUR 40,000 – 60,000
EUR 72,250 / USD 106,505
COMPLETE SET

ANDY WARHOL (AMERICAN, 1928-1987)
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, from: Reigning Queens (Feldman and Schellmann 338-341), 1985
Set of four screenprints in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Each signed in pencil and numbered AP 8/10, aside the regular edition of 40