Nazi-looted painting found in SS family home

AMSTERDAM

A painting stolen by the Nazis from the renowned art collection of Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker has resurfaced in the home of descendants of notorious Dutch Nazi collaborator Hendrik Seyffardt, according to Dutch art detective Arthur Brand.

The artwork, “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Dutch painter Toon Kelder, had reportedly hung for decades in the family home. Brand described the discovery as “the most bizarre case” of his career.

The case came to light after a member of Seyffardt’s family contacted Brand anonymously. The relative said he had recently uncovered two shocking truths: That he was descended from one of the Netherlands’ most infamous Nazi collaborators and that his family possessed a painting looted from a Jewish collection during World War II.

According to Brand, the family member saw the portrait hanging in the hallway of Seyffardt’s granddaughter, who allegedly acknowledged that the work had been stolen from the Goudstikker collection and could never legally be sold.

Seyffardt was among the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with Nazi Germany and commanded a Dutch Waffen-SS unit on the Eastern Front. He was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943 and later received a state funeral attended by senior Nazi officials.

Brand launched an investigation after receiving the tip. He discovered a Goudstikker label attached to the back of the painting as well as the number “92” carved into the frame. By examining records from a 1940 wartime auction involving looted artworks, he identified item number 92 as Kelder’s “Portrait of a Young Girl.”

The Goudstikker collection was seized after the Jewish art dealer fled the Netherlands in 1940 while escaping the Nazi invasion. Thousands of artworks from the collection were confiscated, many ending up in the hands of top Nazi officials, including Hermann Goering.

Brand believes Seyffardt likely obtained the painting during the 1940 auction and that it remained in the family across generations.

Lawyers representing Goudstikker’s heirs confirmed the painting had been looted and called for its immediate return. The anonymous relative who exposed the case also said the artwork should go back to its rightful owners. However, Dutch authorities reportedly cannot seize the work because the statute of limitations has expired.