An early portrait by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian has been stolen from a regional museum in the eastern Netherlands.

Thieves forced open the doors of the Freriks Museum in the eastern town of Winterswijk early Tuesday morning and snatched a painting called Portrait of Arda Boogers-Ruhwandl, according to police.

Believed to have been painted by Mondrian around 1908, the canvas is a naturalistic portrait of a young woman and was insured for about $28,000. Stylistically, the painting is far from the abstract minimalist, primary-coloured grids for which the artist eventually became renowned.

Police have called on the public for any information they may have related to the theft.

Mondrian spent time in Winterswijk during his childhood. The town's Freriks Museum is a cultural venue that comprises historical displays, a botanical garden and a petting zoo.

In adddition to some early pieces by Mondrian, its collection also includes works by his drawing instructor father, Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan, and his artist uncle, Fritz Mondriaan.

With files from The Associated Press