Burglars Steal Early Van Gogh Painting From Dutch Museum
On what would have been the painter’s 167th birthday.
An early Vincent Van Gogh painting was stolen overnight from Singer Laren, a small museum just outside of Amsterdam. The burglary took place in the early hours of March 30, what would have been the famed painter’s 167th birthday.
Singer Laren previously announced that it would remain closed until at least June 1 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The theft of the painting, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring, poses another major loss to the museum amid health-related closures. The stolen work, which dates to 1884, was on loan to Singer Laren from fellow Dutch museum the Groninger.
“I feel enormous anger and sadness,” Singer Laren Museum Director Jan Rudolph told the New York Times. “Because especially in these dark days that we are in, I feel so strongly that art is here to comfort us, to inspire us and to heal us,” he added.
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) March 30, 2020
