There was a surprise recovery of four Dutch Old Master paintings that had been missing since a theft at the Westfries Museum in Holland 11 years ago. The works were found by the Ukrainian government which has known that a local “ultranationalist” militia was in possession of one of the works for at least a year.
Unfortunately, according to the New York Times, another 20 works remain missing from the theft:
The four paintings, with a total value of about 250,000 euros, or about $280,000, were among 24 paintings and 70 pieces of silver taken in a nighttime burglary in 2005. […]
The Ukrainian authorities did not disclose where or how they had found the paintings, and did not indicate whether they knew anything about the whereabouts of the other 20 artworks, or the silver. Mr. Grytsak said in the news conference that the first painting was recovered in early March, a second in early April and two more on Thursday.
The four works that were retrieved were all early 17th-century Dutch paintings of various genres: “Farmers Wedding,” by Hendrick Boogaert; “Kitchen Peace,” a domestic scene by Floris van Schooten; “The Return of Jephta,” a biblical scene by Jacob Waben; and “Lady World,” also by Waben, an allegorical scene.
Ukraine Says Stolen Dutch Art Has Been Recovered (The New York Times)
