A painting that had disappeared since the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands was located decades later inside the home of relatives of a former collaborator of the German regime. The discovery involves the work “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, and rekindled discussions about the fate of looted pieces during World War II.
The case came to light after art detective Arthur Brand received contact from a man who claimed to be a descendant of Hendrik Seyffardt, a Dutch general linked to the Waffen-SS, the military arm of the Nazi SS. According to Brand’s report to the BBC, the descendant had recently discovered the painting’s origin, kept by the family since the war period.
According to the account published by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the relatives changed their surname after the conflict ended and kept the painting’s history secret for decades. The man said he was shocked to discover the painting’s connection to the looting promoted by the Nazi regime.
“I feel ashamed. The painting must be returned to Goudstikker’s heirs,” the descendant told the newspaper.
The work originally belonged to Jacques Goudstikker, one of the largest art dealers in Europe before the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Jewish, Goudstikker died in 1940 while trying to flee to England. After his death, thousands of pieces from his collection were confiscated, sold, or diverted during the German advance across the continent.
According to Arthur Brand, the painting’s identification occurred after analyzing marks found on the back of the canvas. The investigator located a tag and the number 92 on the back of the work and decided to cross-reference the information with historical records of an auction held in 1940.
In the files consulted by the detective, the code corresponded precisely to Toon Kelder’s missing painting. Brand also notes that the work had previously passed through the hands of Hermann Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe and one of the top leaders of the Nazi high command.
For the investigator, keeping the piece within the Seyffardt family for decades prolonged a situation that could have been corrected earlier. “For decades, the family, which evidently bears no personal guilt for Seyffardt’s crimes, had the opportunity to do the right thing and return this painting. They chose not to,” he stated.
The painting’s reappearance reinforces the still unresolved dimension of the Nazi-era art market. International estimates indicate that thousands of looted works from World War II remain missing or embroiled in legal battles involving heirs, collectors, and governments.
The name of Jacques Goudstikker has recently returned to the center of these investigations. In 2025, another work that was part of his collection was found in similar circumstances in Argentina, inside a residence that had belonged to a former Nazi regime employee who had taken refuge in South America after the war’s end.
