A Dutch art detective has recovered a precious Vincent van Gogh painting stolen from a museum in a daring midnight heist during the coronavirus lockdown three and a half years ago. Arthur Brand took possession of the missing painting, the 1884 “Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring,” worth between three and six million euros ($3.2 and $6.4 million), at his Amsterdam home on Monday, stuffed in a blue IKEA bag. “This is a big moment in my life,” said the scholar, who earned the nickname “the Indiana Jones of the art world” for his ability to track down high-profile lost works.
The 57-by-25-centimeter canvas depicts the garden at the church’s rectory in Nuenen, where Van Gogh spent his formative years. The heist in March 2020 made global headlines when thieves smashed a front door at the Singer Laren museum in the central Dutch town of Laren and grabbed the painting, which was on loan from another center in the city of Groningen. Police rushed to the scene, but the thieves had fled by the time they arrived.
Investigators believe the thief or thieves broke into the museum by smashing a glass door and spotted the painting through a window. They set off alarms that sent officers rushing to the site, but the gang was already gone.
Detectives traced the painting to a man, Peter Roy K, who was convicted of cocaine trafficking. He wanted to use it as leverage for a reduced sentence but was persuaded by Brand that keeping the painting was a burden and that he should return it. The artwork is one of the most valuable works by the late master, whose post-impressionist paintings like Sunflowers and striking self-portraits fetch millions at auction.
Two weeks ago, a man unconnected to the original theft contacted Brand and expressed his desire to return the painting. After a lengthy negotiation, Brand convinced him that the work would be more of a burden than an asset, and he agreed to arrange its safe return.
The recovery of the masterpiece has led to renewed calls for increased security at museums and a more robust system to track artworks. Museums are bolstering their staff and stepping up inspections of works on display, including those not generally on exhibit, to prevent similar thefts in the future.
Museum directors are understandably pissed off by the heist, especially since it happened on Van Gogh’s birthday. The director of the Singer Laren Museum, Jan Rudolph de Lorm, told reporters that he was shocked and unbelievably annoyed by the brazen theft.
But the recovery of the painting is also a victory for art detectives. They have pushed for harsher criminal penalties for art theft and a better system to track stolen works, including a national register that will be used to help police in other countries track down works. The register could be put in place within a few months.
