24 October 2008

THE NETHERLANDS - The government has lost track of more than 3,000 works of art from its own collections.

The works were loaned to government institutions and have since been lost. Some were probably stolen, while others were given to civil servants or are still hanging in a forgotten location.

The works include a painting by Isaac van Ostade and pieces by artists such as Lucebert and Jan Dibbets.

The government agency responsible for the administration of publicly owned art says it assumes a large number of the missing works will never be recovered.

[Radio Netherlands / Expatica]