An artwork plundered by the Nazis from the world-famous Goudstikker collection has surfaced in the family of a notorious SS collaborator in the Netherlands, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told AFP on Monday.
“Portrait of a Young Girl”, by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, had likely been hanging for decades in the home of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, Brand said, describing it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career”.
The case has drawn parallels to a find that made global headlines in 2025, when an 18th-century Nazi-looted painting, also from the collection of late Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, featured in a property ad in Argentina.
In the Dutch case, Brand said he was approached by a man who had recently uncovered two horrifying secrets: he was a descendant of Seyffardt, and his family had displayed the looted art for years.
This family member, who wished to remain anonymous, told Brand he saw the painting hanging in the hallway of the granddaughter of Seyffardt, who was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943.
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Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, commanded a Waffen-SS unit of Dutch volunteers on the Eastern Front.
The New York Times splashed news of his death on its front page in 1943, and a lavish Nazi state funeral was held for him in The Hague, complete with a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.
According to Brand, Seyffardt’s granddaughter told the family member the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”
But the family member wanted the story to go public, so they contacted Brand, who has made a name for himself cracking numerous high-profile cases of stolen art.
This family member told De Telegraaf daily: “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”
The grandmother, quoted by the Dutch daily, said the family was discussing whether the painting should be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, and denied knowing it was looted.
“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,” she was quoted as saying.
