Dubbed The Netherlands' 'Indiana Jones of the art world', Arthur Brand recovered Vincent van Gogh's "Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring" three years after it was stolen.
ADVERTISEMENTArthur Brand cooperated with the Dutch police to negotiate the safe return of the painting, known in English as 'Spring Garden'. It is estimated to be worth between three and six million euros.
He managed to recover the painting after he was contacted by a person who had access to it, but who Brand said had nothing to do with the actual theft.
"It took 1,300 days but here it is and I will hand it over in a few moments to the museum director and I think he will be happy," he said.
The painting, which dates from 1884 the beginning of van Gogh's career, was stolen from the Singer Museum in the Dutch town of Laren in March 2020, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, when the museum was closed. It was on loan for an exhibition.
Both the perpetrator and the original recipient are now behind bars.
At the time, Dutch police released security footage showing the moment thieves broke into the museum, east of Amsterdam, smashing glass doors, to steal the work.
The artwork depicts the garden of the rectory at Nuenen, the small Dutch town where Van Gogh's parents lived.
