Thieves stole the early version of

Thieves stole the early version of The Potato Eaters, the Weaver's Interior, and Dried Sunflowers from the Kröller-Müller Museum in December, 1988. In April, 1989, the thieves returned Weaver's Interior in an attempt to gain a $2.5 million ransom.[13] The police recovered the other two on July 14, 1989; no ransom was paid.[14]

On April 14, 1991, the Vincent van Gogh National Museum was robbed of twenty major paintings including the final version of The Potato Eaters. For unknown reasons, the robbers abandoned the art 35 minutes after the robbery, and the paintings were quickly recovered.