A Van Gogh Painting Was Stolen From A Closed Museum

“The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” was stolen early Monday morning

Renee Nuevo

March 31, 2020, 07:29 PM

On the eve of master painter Vincent Van Gogh’s 167th birthday, his landscape painting called “The Parsonage Garden Nuenen in Spring 1884” was taken from a museum that COVID-19 has closed, the Singer Laren in Amsterdam.

The painting, owned by American couple William and Anna Singer, was on loan from the Groninger Museum for an exhibition at the Singer Laren called “Mirror of the Soul.” It opened on January 14, and was due to close in May.

We’re so sad that today, on Vincent van Gogh’s birthday, burglars broke into @SingerLaren and stole this work, on loan from @GroningerMuseum. We hope they get caught soon! pic.twitter.com/47WTrzV5An
— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) 30 March 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of several museums in Amsterdam, after its government banned large crowds. This included the Singer Laren.

According to the Associated Press, museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm is “shocked” and “unbelievably annoyed” about this turn of events. “This beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest artists stolen—removed from the community,” he said.

“It is very bad for the Groninger Museum, it is very bad for the Singer, but it is terrible for us all because art exists to be seen and shared by us, the community, to enjoy to draw inspiration from and to draw comfort from, especially in these difficult times.”

As we all hope for the safe return of Van Gogh’s 1884 work to the museum, you may be interested to take a virtual tour at other Dutch museums, including the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, available through Google Arts and Culture.