‘The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884’ was one of van Gogh’s earlier works and was on loan at the gallery from Groninger Museum.

Of all days, of all times, we’re sad to report that one of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings was stolen on the night of the 30th of March when thieves smashed through a glass door of the Singer Laren museum, which is about 20km from Amsterdam. Coronavirus or not, the currently closed museum is not guarded at night, but an alarm triggered went straight to the local police station, but the thieves were gone by the time police arrived.

“I’m shocked and unbelievably annoyed that this has happened,” Singer Laren museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm said. “This beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest artists stolen – removed from the community. It is very bad for the Groninger Museum, it is very bad for the Singer, but it is terrible for us all because art exists to be seen and shared by us, the community, to enjoy to draw inspiration from and to draw comfort from, especially in these difficult times.”

It’s estimated that the painting, which depicts a person in a garden, is worth over $10 million and police have not released any information regarding leads… Stay tuned.