<p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch police said Tuesday they have arrested a suspect in the theft last year of two valuable paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Frans Hals from two different museums. The paintings, however, remain missing.</p>
<p>In a statement posted on Twitter, police spokeswoman Maren Wonder said a 58-year-old man was arrested at his home in the Dutch town of Baarn. His identity was not released, in line with Dutch privacy guidelines.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately we haven’t yet recovered the paintings and the investigation is continuing,” Wonder said. She called the arrest “a really important step in the investigation.”</p>
<p>“The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” by Van Gogh was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/e635b833e60dfcb01351752976d818df">snatched from the Singer Laren museum</a> east of Amsterdam in the early hours of March 30. The museum was closed at the time due to a coronavirus lockdown.</p>
<p>The Hals work, “Two Laughing Boys,” was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/8fa39c36e944dea7a19cc00612354155">stolen some five months later</a> from Museum Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden in Leerdam, 60 kilometers (about 35 miles) south of Amsterdam.</p>
