A rare painting stolen by Nazis from a Jewish art collector in the Netherlands during World War Two has been discovered in the home of descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator, an art detective says.
Portrait of a Young Girl, by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, is believed to have hung for decades in the home of Hendrik Seyffardt’s family, Arthur Brand said. He added later it had been handed over to his team.
The painting belonged to Jacques Goudstikker, who died fleeing the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, leaving a collection of more than 1,000 paintings.
The case was brought to Brand’s attention by a man who told him he was a descendant of Seyffardt “disgusted” to learn his family had kept the artwork for years.
Seyffardt was a Dutch general who commanded a Waffen-SS unit of volunteers on the eastern front before he was assassinated by resistance fighters in 1943.
Shortly after learning he was related to the Nazi collaborator, the man approached his grandmother to ask about the painting’s history.
She is said to have told him it had been purchased during World War Two and that it was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”
The family, which changed their name at the end of the war, have admitted being in possession of the painting but denied knowing its true origin, according to a statement to Dutch media.
After learning of the painting’s history, the family member contacted Brand through an intermediary, believing the only way for it to be returned was for the story to be made public.
The family member told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf: “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”
In a statement to the same newspaper, his grandmother said: “I received it from my mother.
“Now that you confront me like this, I understand that Goudstikker’s heirs want the painting back. I didn’t know that.”
Upon being informed of the painting’s existence, Brand launched his own investigation.
He discovered the painting had a label on the back and the number 92 etched into its frame.
