Art detective Arthur Brand announced the discovery of a Nazi-looted painting, *Portrait of a Young Girl* by Toon Kelder, in the home of the heirs of Hendrik Seyffardt, a notorious Dutch SS commander. The painting was part of the more than 1,100 works plundered from Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker by German occupiers. An anonymous heir, who changed his family name, contacted Brand after learning of his ancestry, expressing shame and demanding the painting be returned to the rightful Jewish owners. The current owner, a relative, claims ignorance of its provenance and says the family is discussing restitution.
The case highlights the ongoing challenges of Nazi-looted art restitution in the Netherlands, where the statute of limitations prevents legal seizure and the Restitutions Commission only oversees national collections. Brand hopes public exposure will pressure the owner to return the work voluntarily. The discovery carries symbolic weight, given the Netherlands' history of collaboration and the murder of three-quarters of its Jewish population during the Nazi occupation. It echoes a similar case last year involving a Goudstikker painting found in Argentina.