Museum director appeals for return of stolen painting by Dutch master Frans Hals

Boss of Rijksmuseum makes plea over artwork taken from Leerdam in August 2020 before new show

The director general of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has appealed for the return of a stolen Frans Hals painting as he prepares to open a major exhibition devoted to the Dutch master without the amazing" 15m artwork.

Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer was stolen from the Museum Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden in the Dutch town of Leerdam in August 2020. Unlike a Van Gogh painting believed to have been taken by the same gang and recovered last year, the Hals appears to have vanished into the criminal world.