The painting’s rediscovery was made public this morning by Dutch private investigator Arthur Brand, whose investigations into missing and looted artworks have often drawn international press attention. During our phone call with him, last week Brand stated that a family member had approached him after learning two deeply unsettling pieces of family history: first, that he was descended from Hendrik Alexander Seyffardt, one of the Netherlands’ most prominent wartime collaborators, and second, that a Nazi-looted painting had apparently been hanging inside the home of one of Seyffardt's heirs for many years.

In the German-occupied Netherlands, SS Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment General Seyffardt was the leader of the collaborationist Netherlands Volunteer Legion (later redesignated the SS Volunteer Legion Niederlande under General Seyffardt.  Known for his strong anti-communist and pro-German sentiments, he was killed following the second of two assassination attempts, the last occurring at his home at Van Neckstraat 36 on 5 February 1943 by Gerrit Willem Kastein and Jan Verleunm resistance fighters with the group CS-6.  Seyffardt died a day later.  

Such was Seyffardt's importance that his funeral was held at the Binnenhof in The Hague, complete with a wreath from Adolf Hitler.  Attended by Anton Mussert, leader of the Dutch Nationaal Socialistische Beweging (NSB), and Nazi politician and later convicted war criminal Reich Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart, it was the latter who laid Hitler's wreath on their comrade's coffin.  After General Christiansen, Commander of the Wehrmacht, laid a second wreath following a final salute with Hanns Albin Rauter, the Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer and General Commissioner for safety in the Netherlands who read a passage from a letter by Heinrich Himmler before his body was cremated at Velsen.

How Hendrik Seyffardt obtained the plundered Toon Kelder's portrait remains to be explored, as does why his heirs elected to keep the painting a family secret rathr than address its origins. What is known is that one family member had an attack of conscience and aware of the painting's dark history, chose not to ignore its tainted origins. 

Cases such as this illustrate a recurring pattern within the restitution field. Individuals who discover that they or someone they know possesses a potentially stolen artwork sometimes turn to intermediaries like Brand, often because they are in an awkward or uncomfortable association with the holder and sometimes because they are uncertain how to proceed.  Fearful of legal consequences, or simply frustrated by the moral implications of what they know, it becomes a question of what next steps should be taken, especially because in many situations, the statute of limitations has expired or the current holders are not themselves implicated in the original theft, but have inherited objects burdened with dark histories, particularly when the painting in question may be tied to Nazi-era looting or organized crime.

In these situations, private investigators specializing in art crime occupy a unique position. Well known from his appearances in press articles related to other recoveries, PIs like Brand are sometimes privy to the earliest of reportings, acting as facilitators between relatives, possessors, claimants, lawyers, museums, insurers, and law enforcement authorities.  

Following up on his informant's lead, Brand identified an entry from the collection of the deceased Jacques Goudstikker which was auctioned at Frederik Muller's (1902–1943) auction house in Amsterdam in 1940.  

Alois Miedl, who took over the Goudstikker's art gallery when its owner fled, consigned Goudstikker's works for auction to Muller's auction house on 8 and 9 October 1940, an event which contained dozens of lots, including a written entry on what seems to be this portrait painting by Toon Kelder, listed as LOT 92.  

Likewise, a look at the verso of paintings sometimes can provide further clues as to ownership and circulation.  The backs of paintings sometime include exhibition labels, stamps, seals, and brands such as the marking from dealers, shippers and auction houses.  On a photo provided to Brand and shared with ARCA there is a chalk entry on this painting's verso, which depicts the number 92.  This corresponds with the Lot number in the Frederik Muller catalogue. 

As in other occupied countries with established art markets, such as France and Belgium, the invasion of the Netherlands by Germany in May 1940 triggered a vertiginous boom in the Dutch art market. One sticker on the reverse side of this painting securely assigns it to the collection of Jacques Goudstikker’s gallery. 

Depending on the time at which the work was included in Goudstikker’s collection, the labels are different, with a total of five different printed labels attributed to this dealer.  On these, the inventory number was usually handwritten on the label and in some cases, the name of the artist might also be noted. 

The earliest labels related to this Jewish dealer's collection can be found on works with low inventory numbers and identify the dealer's gallery located at Kalverstraat 73, like this label depicted below.

After the Goudstikker gallery's relocation to Heerengracht 458, the labels on his artworks changed,  although the design remained basically the same. 

On many paintings, there are further stickers on the back, which further allow us to attribute plundered paintings to the Goudstikker gallery, one of which is the smaller rectangular revision sticker, framed by two blue lines with rounded corners, 

These frequently found stickers likely dates to the time of the revision of the gallery stock in 1940.  It is a toothed standard label with a blue double frame with rounded corners, like the one seen beside the dealer's label on the Kelder painting.