Nazi-Looted “Portrait of a Young Girl” Resurfaces in The Hague With Hendrik Seyffardt’s Descendants

A Nazi-looted painting resurfaced in the Netherlands after being identified in the possession of descendants of notorious Dutch Nazi collaborator Hendrik Seyffardt, according to an art detective’s account of how the work came to light.

“Looted Goudstikker Painting surfaces Decades after SS General’s Assassination A painting looted by the Nazis during World War II is still in the possession of heirs of Dutch SS General Hendrik Seyffardt”

ArtDependence

The painting is “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Toon Kelder, and Dutch art detective Arthur Brand said he could confirm it came from the famed Goudstikker collection.

ArtDependence

Brand traced the work to a 1940 auction of looted works, identifying it via a label and catalog number, and said Seyffardt was shot in his home in The Hague by the resistance in February 1943 and died several days later.

The Guardian reported that Portrait of a Young Girl is believed to have hung for decades in the home of Hendrik Seyffardt’s family, and Brand described it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career”.

A family member who uncovered the painting’s origins told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, “It is true that I discovered my family possesses the looted painting and does not want to return it,” while Brand said he was approached months earlier through an intermediary.

The Guardian reported that Seyffardt’s granddaughter initially said the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”

BBC

In a separate account, the BBC said the family member told De Telegraaf, “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”

The BBC also quoted the grandmother saying, “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.”

Lawyers for the Goudstikker heirs confirmed the artwork was stolen and are seeking restitution, while DW said authorities have limited options because legal time limits have expired and restitution bodies cannot compel private owners to return such works.

“- Published A painting stolen from a Jewish art collector by the Nazis during World War Two has been found in the home of descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator, an art detective has said”

BBC

The Guardian said police are powerless to act as the theft has passed the statute of limitations, and it quoted Brand describing the family’s public exposure as “the only way to hopefully return the painting to the Goudstikker heirs, where it rightfully belongs.”

The BBC added that Brand discovered a label on the back and the number 92 etched into its frame, and he searched the archives of a 1940 auction where an item under the number 92 was titled “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Toon Kelder.

The Guardian drew parallels to a 2025 case in Argentina involving an 18th-century Nazi-looted painting from the Goudstikker collection that appeared in a property ad, and it said that discovery led to scrutiny of supply chains and oversight in Europe’s art world.