A Dutch museum has confirmed that a Vincent van Gogh painting was stolen from the institution in the early hours of Monday morning.
The Singer Laren museum near Amsterdam is reporting that the Van Gogh painting "Spring Garden" was stolen shortly after 3am on Monday, 30 March – the same day as the Dutch Master's birthday. In a press conference posted to Singer Laren's YouTube channel, museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm said he is "shocked and incredibly pissed off that this happened," according to De Telegraaf. "A beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest painters, stolen from the community."
The painting was on loan to Singer Laren (a museum and concert hall which houses the collection of American couple William and Anna Singer) from the Groninger Museum in Groningen. Both museums are temporarily closed due to restrictions in place in the Netherlands amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1884 painting, otherwise known as "The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring", depicts a rectory garden in the artist's childhood town of Nuenen.
"The work from 1884, oil on paper on panel (marouflé), is the only painting by Van Gogh in the collection of the Groninger Museum," a Groninger Museum spokesperson said in a statement. "We are very shocked by this news. The investigation is currently in full swing and no more can be said about it due to the police investigation."
Singer Laren's general manager Evert van Os pleaded for the painting to be "returned to the public as soon as possible." It is understood that no other artwork was stolen during the raid.
