"I Am Ashamed"... Nazi-Looted Masterpiece Found Hanging in SS General's Descendant's Home

Dutch Art Detective Brand Reveals Tip

"Stolen Kelder Painting Held by Nazi Descendants"

Tipster: "Ashamed... Must Be Returned to Heirs"

A Nazi-looted masterpiece that had been missing for over 80 years was reportedly found hanging in the home of a descendant of a notorious Nazi SS general.

Portrait of a Young Girl by Dutch abstract artist Ton Kelder. Photo by Arthur Brand

According to a report by Yonhap News on May 11 (local time), citing the BBC and other sources, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand, who specializes in tracking down stolen cultural assets and artworks, received a tip that "Portrait of a Young Girl" by Dutch abstract painter Ton Kelder was being kept at the home of the granddaughter of Nazi SS General Hendrik Seijffardt.

This painting is known as one of more than 1,100 pieces from the collection of Jacques Goudstikker, a renowned Jewish art dealer and collector. Goudstikker died in 1940 while fleeing the Netherlands following the Nazi invasion, and his collection was seized by Hermann Goering, the head of the Nazi Air Force.

Brand believes that Goering put the painting up for auction at the time, and that Seijffardt acquired it at the sale. Seijffardt, a Dutch general who commanded a volunteer unit supporting the Nazi SS, was assassinated by resistance fighters in 1943. His funeral, held in The Hague, was so grand that Adolf Hitler sent a floral tribute.

The tip reportedly came from a descendant of the Seijffardt family, who changed their surname at the end of World War II. According to Brand, the tipster discovered the painting at a relative's house, asked about its history, and quickly learned that it was a Nazi-looted artwork. Seijffardt's granddaughter, who is also the tipster's grandmother, reportedly said, "The painting was purchased during World War II and was looted from Goudstikker, so we cannot even sell it," and urged the tipster not to speak about it publicly.

The tipster told Dutch media, "I am ashamed. The painting must be returned to Goudstikker's heirs," adding, "I decided to come forward because I thought restitution would only be possible if the case became public."

Brand, who made the tip public, said he was "shocked," adding, "I have recovered Nazi-looted art several times in the past, but this case surpasses all previous ones." He also criticized the Seijffardt family for failing to return the painting despite having had decades to do so. However, in an interview with Dutch media, Seijffardt's granddaughter, who had kept the painting, claimed she was unaware that it was Nazi-looted art.

Meanwhile, "Portrait of a Lady" by Italian late Baroque painter Giuseppe Ghislandi, also believed to be part of the Goudstikker collection, resurfaced after more than 80 years last September when it appeared in a real estate listing in an Argentinian resort town.

At the time, after Argentinian prosecutors launched an investigation, the daughter and son-in-law of a Nazi war criminal who had kept the painting handed it over, and prosecutors indicted the couple on charges of concealing the painting for decades. The painting is currently being held at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum, and Goudstikker's heirs are proceeding with legal procedures to reclaim it.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.