Dutch museum says van Gogh painting stolen in overnight raid

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch museum that is currently closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus said Monday a painting by Vincent van Gogh on loan for an exhibition was stolen in a raid overnight.

The Singer Laren museum east of Amsterdam says “Spring Garden” by the Dutch master was taken in the early hours of Monday.

Museum director Evert van Os said the institution that houses the collection of American couple William and Anna Singer is “angry, shocked, sad” at the theft of the painting.

The value of the work, which was on loan from the Groninger Museum in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, was not immediately known. Police are investigating the theft.

Before the closure, the museum was hosting an exhibition titled “Mirror of the Soul” with works by artists ranging from Toorop to Mondrian, in cooperation with Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.

The museum’s collection has a focus on modernism such as neo-impressionism, pointillism, expressionism and cubism.