Nazi-Looted Goudstikker Portrait Found in Home of Dutch Collaborator’s Granddaughter

Overview

• Art detective Arthur Brand said Monday that Toon Kelder’s Portrait of a Young Girl from Jacques Goudstikker’s collection resurfaced in the hallway of Hendrik Seyffardt’s granddaughter’s home.
• Brand tied the work to Goudstikker’s holdings by an original dealer label on the back and by matching the frame’s number 92 to a 1940 auction catalogue entry.
• An anonymous Seyffardt descendant contacted Brand and expressed shame about the family’s past, calling for the painting to go back to Goudstikker’s heirs.
• The granddaughter said she inherited the piece and did not know its origin, and the family says it is now discussing a return.
• Dutch police and the Restitution Committee say they cannot force a handover because the theft is time-barred, which leaves public scrutiny and negotiation as the way to recover the work.