Pallade Veneta - Nazi-looted portrait found in home of Dutch SS leader's family: art sleuth

"Portrait of a Young Girl", by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, had likely been hanging for decades in the home of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, 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 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 horrifying secrets: he was a descendant of Seyffardt, and his family had displayed the looted art for years.

This family member, who wished to remain anonymous, told Brand he saw the painting hanging in the hallway of the granddaughter of Seyffardt, who was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943.

Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, commanded a Waffen-SS unit of Dutch volunteers on the Eastern Front.

The New York Times splashed news of his death on its front page in 1943, and a lavish Nazi state funeral was held for him in The Hague, complete with a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.

According to Brand, Seyffardt's granddaughter told the family member the painting was "Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don't tell anyone."

But the family member wanted the story to go public, so contacted Brand, who has made a name for himself cracking numerous high-profile cases of stolen art.

This family member told De Telegraaf daily: "I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker."

The grandmother, quoted by the Dutch daily, said the family was discussing whether the painting should be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, and denied knowing 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," she was quoted as saying.

- 'Truly tops everything' -

Brand launched his own investigation. The painting has a Goudstikker label on the back and the number 92 carved into the frame.

He searched the archives of an auction in 1940 where part of the looted Goudstikker collection went under the hammer and found item number 92: "Portrait of a Young Girl" by Toon Kelder.

Hermann Goering, a top Nazi official, plundered Goudstikker's entire collection when the art dealer fled to England in 1940.

Brand surmises that the Dutch collaborator Seyffardt acquired the painting at the 1940 auction and it was then passed down throughout the generations.

Lawyers for the Goudstikker heirs confirmed to Brand that this painting was looted and have called for its return.

The family member who contacted Brand also wants the painting returned to the Goudstikker heirs, but the police are powerless as the theft has passed the statute of limitations.

The Dutch Restitution Committee, which advises on looted Nazi 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 told AFP.

Brand, who has been nicknamed the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" for his extraordinary finds, said this surpassed anything he had uncovered before.

"I have recovered Nazi-looted art from World War II before, including pieces in the Louvre, the Dutch Royal Collection, and numerous museums," he said.

"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."

I.Saccomanno--PV