Paintings stolen decades ago returning to Amsterdam Museum

Five paintings that were stolen from n outside depot of the Amsterdam Museum and the Stedelijk Museum in 1972 have been found at a British auction, the museum announced in a press release on Wednesday. The paintings have been returned to the Amsterdam collection. "We are overjoyed that these works have returned to the Amsterdam museum after 43 years." Paul Spies, director of the Amsterdam Museum, said. "It is unique that works are recovered after such a long time. We are therefore grateful to anyone who played a role in this for their help." A total of 49 paintings were stolen from the depot in 1972. 31 of these were traced over the years. The five 19th century paintings that were found now are A harp player by Belgian painter Charles van Beveren, Flute player with sheep by Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer, The Death of General Hans Willem van Aylva painted by Chales Rochussen, The resting model by French-Polish artist Emile Eisman Semenowsky and A sitting page with a dog by Belgian artist Florent Willems. The paintings were surfaced in an auction house in Lewes, Britain, While checking the origin of the paintings, the auctioneer discovered that the works were listed in the Art Loss Register - the international database for missing art and antiques. According to the museum, the owner who had given the works up for auction had no idea that they were stolen.