There's an interesting and some would say disturbing article by NRC about the sale of artworks by the DRF in recent years. A remarkable transaction and story pertains the painting 'Boschbrand' or Forest Fire by famous painter Raden Saleh, The huge painting was given by the painter to King Willem III in 1850 as a token of appreciation for the fact that the Dutch state apparently financially supported the painter for many years. The painting was placed in Palace het Loo and Huis ten Bosch for years until it was removed, carelessly rolled up (and folded) and stored in an attic and later ended up in a national depot. The painting was forgotten but was found 10 years ago due to the efforts / research by a Dutch Raden Saleh expert. She immediately saw the importance of this last painting by Raden Saleh in the Royal Collection and advocated to have the painting restored and exhibited in one the Dutch National museums. After its discovery the painting quickly found its way back to the Royal Family and was considered to have been the property of Queen Juliana. Her 4 daughters then gave the painting to the 12 grandchildren who subsequently had it restored, apparently for the sole purpose of selling it, and sold it in 2014 to the National Gallery in Singapore for between 3-5 mln dollars without offering it to Dutch museums or Dutch collectors first. Ironically the painting would probably have fetched much more at a public auction but the family wanted to be discrete....
I had the pleasure of seeing the painting up front in the National Gallery in Singapore where it is considered one of the highlights of the collection. Its a stunning painting, probably one of the most impressive by Raden Saleh and IMHO a great pity it was never to be acquired by the Rijksmuseum or Tropenmuseum as part of our National Heritage.
NRC article