The artwork, “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, was identified as part of the famed collection of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, whose holdings were systematically seized by Nazi officials after he fled the Netherlands in 1940.Brand said the painting had likely remained for decades in the possession of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, one of the Netherlands’ most prominent wartime Nazi collaborators.

The discovery emerged after a family member of Seyffardt contacted Brand, revealing both his family connection and the presence of the painting inside the household of Seyffardt’s granddaughter. The individual, who requested anonymity, said relatives were aware the painting was considered looted property connected to the Goudstikker collection.

According to Brand, the painting carried a Goudstikker inventory label on the reverse side as well as the number 92 carved into its frame. Brand said archival research into a 1940 auction of confiscated Goudstikker works confirmed that item 92 corresponded to “Portrait of a Young Girl.”

The case has drawn renewed attention to the vast scale of Nazi-era art looting and the lingering difficulty heirs face in reclaiming stolen works more than eight decades after World War II.Hermann Goering seized Goudstikker’s collection after the dealer escaped to England during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

Thousands of artworks passed through Nazi hands during the war, with many later dispersed through auctions, private collections and museums.Brand said he believed Seyffardt acquired the painting during the 1940 auction before it was handed down through generations of his family.

Seyffardt commanded a Dutch Waffen-SS unit fighting on the Eastern Front and was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943. His death received international attention at the time, including coverage on the front page of The New York Times, and Nazi authorities staged a state funeral in The Hague attended by senior officials.

Lawyers representing the Goudstikker heirs have confirmed the painting was looted and are seeking its return, Brand said.The descendant who disclosed the painting’s existence also supports restitution, according to interviews published by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, saying the artwork rightfully belongs to the Goudstikker family.

Dutch authorities, however, face legal limitations in recovering the work. Brand said criminal prosecution is no longer possible because the statute of limitations has expired, while the Dutch Restitution Committee lacks authority to compel private owners to surrender disputed artworks.

Brand, known internationally for recovering stolen and looted art, said the discovery stood apart from previous investigations involving works traced to major museums and private collections.“Discovering a painting from the famous Goudstikker collection, in the possession of the heirs of a notorious Dutch Waffen-SS general, truly tops everything,” he said.