Portrait looted by Nazis found in home of Dutch SS leader’s family | Art theft

An artwork looted by the Nazis from the renowned Goudstikker collection has resurfaced in the home of descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator, according to an art detective.

Portrait of a Young Girl, by the Dutch artist Toon Kelder, is believed to have hung for decades in the home of Hendrik Seyffardt’s family, Arthur 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 the 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 disturbing family secrets: he was descended from Seyffardt and his family had displayed looted art for years.

The relative, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Brand he had seen the painting hanging in the hallway of Seyffardt’s granddaughter.

Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, commanded a Waffen-SS unit of volunteers on the eastern front before being assassinated by resistance fighters in 1943. A Nazi state funeral was held for him in The Hague, with a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.

According to Brand, Seyffardt’s granddaughter initially said the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”

However, the family member wanted the story to go public and contacted Brand, who has solved numerous high-profile cases of stolen art. The family member told De Telegraaf: “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”

According to the Dutch daily newspaper, the family was discussing whether the painting should be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, adding that they had not known 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,” a relative was quoted as saying.

Brand launched his own investigation, noting that painting had a Goudstikker label on the back and “92” carved into the frame. He searched the archives of an auction in 1940, where part of the looted Goudstikker collection was sold, and found item No 92: Portrait of a Young Girl.

The senior Nazi official Hermann Göring looted Goudstikker’s entire collection when the art dealer fled to England in 1940. Brand surmises that Seyffardt acquired the painting at the auction that year and it was passed down throughout the generations.

Lawyers representing the Goudstikker heirs confirmed to Brand the artwork was looted and called for its return. The family member who contacted Brand also wants the painting to be delivered to the Goudstikker heirs, but the police are powerless to act as the theft has passed the statute of limitations.

The Dutch Restitutions Committee, which advises on Nazi-looted art, is also hamstrung as it cannot compel private individuals to return artworks. “The family member sees public exposure as the only way to hopefully return the painting to the Goudstikker heirs, where it rightfully belongs,” Brand said.

The art sleuth, nicknamed the “Indiana Jones of the art world”, said: “I have recovered Nazi-looted art from world war two before, including pieces in the Louvre, the Dutch Royal Collection and numerous museums. But discovering a painting from the famous Goudstikker collection, in the possession of the heirs of a notorious Dutch Waffen-SS general, truly tops everything.”