Early Mondrian painting stolen in Netherlands

[June 16, 2010]  AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Police say a portrait painted by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian early in his career has been stolen from a museum in the Netherlands.

Thieves apparently forced the doors at the Freriks Museum in the eastern town of Winterswijk in the early hours of Tuesday morning and took the painting, police say in a statement. The piece, Portrait of Arda Boogers, is dated to around 1908.

It is a naturalistic portrait of a young woman, far different in style from the abstract minimalist paintings for which Mondrian is best known.

Police called for witnesses or people with tips to come forward Tuesday. The painting was insured for euro23,000 ($28,000).

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.