Astolen Van Gogh worth Millions was returned in an Ikea Bag

At dawn on the 30th of March 2020 – Van Gogh’s birthday – a Van Gogh painting called “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring”, madein 1884, wasstolenfrom the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands. The artwork, estimated to be worth between 3.2 and 6.4 million dollars, was a loan from the Groninger Museum.

Now Arthur Brand, a world-renowned Dutch “art detective”, who has been described as the “Indiana Jones of the art world” has recovered the painting, stating that it was delivered to his apartment byananonymousperson, wrappedin an Ikea bag.

The police believe that the person returning the artwork was not involved in the theft, as they have identified the robber as Nils M., who also stole a Frans Hal painting in2020, and who was sentenced to 8 years of prison and a payment of 9 million dollars to compensate for the Hal’s painting.

Apparently, the Van Gogh painting circulated through the criminal network but was ultimately unwanted because the thief had already been convicted, so anyone found with the painting would have to pay a large fine. Brand stated that: “we knew that the painting would go from one hand to another hand in the criminal world, but that nobody really wanted to touch it [because] you could only get in trouble.”

Brand has helped to recover more than 200 paintings, many from famous painters such as Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso, together with some other items, like a gold ring gifted to someone by Oscar Wilde.

The Groninger Museum has assessed the Van Gogh painting and has stated that the painting was stored in bad conditions and the quality has therefore deteriorated but that it ultimately still is in good condition.