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The heirs of a Jewish spouses have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a Van Gogh art piece was stolen by the Third Reich.

Case History

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the painting, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. The following year, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich prior to WWII.

The suit argues that the institution, which obtained the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was probably stolen property. The descendants are now requesting the restitution of the canvas along with compensation.

In the decades since WWII, this plundered piece has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, alleges the lawsuit.

Forced Emigration

The Stern family escaped from their Munich home to America in the late 1930s with their large family due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime designated the painting as a German cultural asset and banned the couple from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a representative appointed by the Nazis auctioned the piece on the Sterns' behalf. However, the funds from the transaction were deposited in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the artwork was brought to New York and was acquired by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then sold it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Elise Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Greek couple established the Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a institution in Athens where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action states that the defendants and its associated organizations have covered up the artwork's provenance and current place from the heirs.

Currently, the foundation continue to obscure the circumstances the foundation came into ownership of the artwork; the family's possession of the Painting from several years; and the truth that the regime looted the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the couple into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the funds of the deal.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a related lawsuit in California in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An appeal was also denied in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

The legal action argues that the institution's buying of the piece was approved by a curator, the institution's specialist of European paintings and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the artwork had almost certainly been looted by the regime.

The museum issued a statement that it prioritizes its longstanding commitment to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

An official remarked: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the family – in fact, that information did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the institution's rigorous standards for disposal – specifically, it was recorded that the artwork was considered to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the same type in the holdings. Even though The Met respectfully stands by its stance that this artwork entered the collection and was removed lawfully and well within all rules and regulations, the museum welcomes and will consider any additional details that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel representing the foundation said: The institution is a renowned institution in Athens. The action to take legal action against the organization and the family in the US upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are convinced it will be again.