A man who is suspected of stealing paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Frans Hals is now behind bars.
According to New York Times, Dutch authorities arrested the 58-year-old unidentified man Tuesday morning at his home in Baarn, Netherlands. The suspect is accused of stealing Van Gogh’s “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” from the Singer Laren museum during an overnight raid back in March. Investigators also say the man is believed to have stolen Frans Hals’ “Two Laughing Boys” from the Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden about five months later. The Van Gogh was created in 1884 and is reportedly valued at up to $6.6 million. The Hals’ work dates back to 1626 and is said be valued at $18 million.
Surveillance cameras at the Singer Laren captured the Van Gogh heist.
“Two Laughing Boys” was reportedly stolen from the Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden museum two times before; once in 1988 and another time 2011.
“For months, intensive investigations into the robbery of both paintings were conducted under the leadership of the public prosecution service,” Dutch police said in a press release. “This has led to the arrest of a 58-year-old suspect from Baarn. He was arrested at his home this morning. The man is suspected of stealing the paintings.”
Authorities have yet to recover the paintings.
Arthur Brand, a Dutch art detective known as the “Indiana Jones of the Art World,” praised authorities for the arrest.
“It’s amazing work by the Dutch police,” Brand told the Times. “Normally, after two months a team is dismantled because they know they’re not going to get anywhere. But they continued and continued and now they’ve arrested a guy who may have stolen both. You don’t see that much in cases like these.”
