Van Gogh painting stolen in overnight heist at Dutch museum closed for coronavirus

Singer Laren Museum.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Coronavirus has closed museums around the globe — and created the perfect opportunity for an overnight heist.

Early Monday morning, thieves broke into the Singer Laren museum east of Amsterdam and stole the Vincent Van Gogh painting "The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884." Forensic investigators and art theft experts are now studying video footage and questioning people nearby to track the piece down, The Associated Press reports.

Thieves seemingly smashed a glass door to break into the museum. It set off an alarm, but by the time guards arrived, both the painting and the thieves had fled, per a police statement.

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While the Singer Laren is dedicated to the art of American couple William and Anna Singer, it was hosting a special exhibit featuring a variety of artists before it closed over fears of spreading the new coronavirus. The stolen piece was on loan from the Groninger Museum in the northern Netherlands city of Groningen, and its value has not yet been revealed.

"I'm shocked and unbelievably annoyed that this has happened, Singer Laren museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm told AP. "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."

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.