One stolen Dutch painting will return to museum

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

Again painting stolen from Westfries Museum found

Today, 16:09

The West Frisian Museum in Hoorn has once again found one of 24 paintings that were stolen from the museum in 2005. It is Isaac Ouwater‘s Nieuwstraat in Hoorn.

A Ukrainian delivered the 1784 painting today to the Dutch embassy in Kiev. According to the Westfries Museum the man had bought the painting, with authenticity certificate, in good faith.

The buyer is also willing to give back the work to the West Frisian Museum, without conditions. The painting is badly damaged and will not any soon be shown after restoration, according to a spokesman.

Major museum looting

On the night of 9 to January 10, 2005, the painting was stolen along with 23 other paintings and 70 pieces of silverware. According to the museum the loot was the heart of their 17th- and 18th-century collection.

It took years before a trace was found of the stolen art. … Later all the paintings proved to be in Ukraine.

After research by the museum it turned out that the key men in this art theft were Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok, the leader of the neo-nazi Svoboda party; and Valentyn Oleksandrovych Nalyvaichenko, until recently the boss of the Ukrainian secret police, now a right-wing member of parliament.

Among other things with the help of an art detective then four of the stolen paintings were identified. Of the remaining twenty works now this one has been found. …

It is not yet clear when the recovered paintings will return to the museum in Hoorn. The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security has already submitted an application to the authorities in Ukraine.

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