Old masters stolen in Dutch museum raid

Art thieves broke escaped with a series of Dutch old masters after breaking into a museum in the northern Netherlands overnight.

The robbers took 15 to 20 paintings and a substantial portion of the 125 year-old Westfries Museum’s silver collection without setting off the alarm.

Among the stolen works were 17th century paintings by Jan van Goyen, Jacob Waben, Matthias Withoos, Jan Rietschoof, Jan Linsen and Herman Henstenburg.

“The heart of our collection is gone, including top artworks of national importance. They were mostly unique pieces which are irreplaceable,” the museum said today.

The museum, in Hoorn, said its advanced security system had been checked on Thursday and that it could not explain how it had been possible. Staff discovered the theft this morning when they found smashed display cases, broken doors and empty frames.