A painting that was stolen by the Nazis from the esteemed Goudstikker collection has emerged in the house of descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator, as reported by an art detective.
The Portrait of a Young Girl, created by the Dutch artist Toon Kelder, is thought to have been displayed for many years in the home of Hendrik Seyffardt’s family, according to Arthur Brand.
He described it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career.”
This case has drawn comparisons to a discovery that captured global attention in 2025, when an 18th-century painting stolen by the Nazis, also from the collection of the late Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker appeared in a property advertisement in Argentina.
In the Dutch case, Brand mentioned that he was contacted by a man who had recently uncovered two unsettling family secrets, he was a descendant of Seyffardt and his family had exhibited stolen art for many years.
The relative, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed Brand that he had seen the painting displayed in the hallway of Seyffardt’s granddaughter.
Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, led a Waffen-SS unit of volunteers on the eastern front before being assassinated by resistance fighters in 1943.
A Nazi state funeral was conducted for him in The Hague, with a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.
Brand stated that Seyffardt’s granddaughter initially claimed the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”
The senior Nazi official Hermann Göring confiscated Goudstikker’s entire collection when the art dealer fled to England in 1940.
Brand thought that Seyffardt obtained the painting at the auction that year, and it was later passed down through the generations.
Lawyers representing the Goudstikker heirs confirmed to Brand that the artwork was indeed looted and called for its return.
The family member who reached out to Brand also wishes for the painting to be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, but the police are unable to intervene as the theft has surpassed the statute of limitations.
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