A significant painting, identified as “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, has been located in the residence of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, a prominent Dutch SS collaborator. Art detective Arthur Brand revealed that the artwork, originally belonging to Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, was believed to have been in the family’s possession for many years. Goudstikker’s extensive art collection, numbering over 1,000 pieces, was lost when he died fleeing the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940.

The recovery of the painting came to light after a descendant of Seyffardt contacted Brand, expressing deep shame and disgust upon learning that his family had harbored the looted artwork. The descendant recounted approaching his grandmother, who allegedly admitted that the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker” and was considered unsellable. The family, who reportedly altered their surname after the war, has acknowledged possessing the painting but has denied prior knowledge of its illicit origins, according to statements made to Dutch media.

Brand’s investigation, initiated after being approached by the descendant, uncovered a label and a numbered etching on the painting’s frame. Cross-referencing these details with archives from a 1940 auction where Goudstikker’s collection was dispersed, Brand identified “Portrait of a Young Girl” as item number 92. He posits that the painting was likely plundered by Nazi official Hermann Göring and subsequently sold at auction to Seyffardt. Legal representatives for Goudstikker’s heirs have confirmed that the collector indeed owned six Toon Kelder paintings, all of which were listed in the 1940 auction.

Describing the find as “stunning” and the most unusual case of his career, Brand highlighted his previous successes in recovering Nazi-looted art from major institutions. However, he emphasized that locating a piece from the renowned Goudstikker collection within the family of a high-ranking Dutch SS general was unprecedented. Brand lamented that the family had decades to rectify the situation and return the painting but chose not to acknowledge its provenance until confronted.