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The descendants of a Jewish pair have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was looted by the Nazis.

Historical Background

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were obliged to escape their home in the German city of Munich prior to WWII.

The suit contends that the museum, which obtained the painting in the 1950s for $125,000, should have known it was probably stolen property. The heirs are now requesting the restitution of the artwork along with damages.

Since the end of WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through New York, alleges the court document.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from their Munich home to the United States in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. However, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities designated the masterpiece as a German cultural asset and banned the couple from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a regime representative, a representative designated by the regime disposed of the painting on the family's behalf. However, the money from the sale were placed in a frozen account, which the authorities later took.

Post-War History

In 1948, or soon after, the artwork was brought to NYC and was purchased by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Later, it was exchanged through a gallery to the Met, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman the magnate and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a museum in Athens where the masterpiece is currently shown.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a surviving nephew of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The filing alleges that the family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and location from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the institution came into ownership of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the truth that the Nazis confiscated the canvas from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the money of the sale.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants submitted a related lawsuit in California in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in spring 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit states that the institution's buying of the artwork was sanctioned by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of European art and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert must have known that the artwork had almost certainly been stolen by the regime.

The Met issued a statement that it is committed to its historical dedication to resolve Nazi-era claims.

A representative remarked: At no time during the institution's custody of the piece was there any documentation that it had earlier been possessed to the Stern family – actually, that information did not become accessible until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for removal from collection – in particular, it was noted that the work was judged to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the collection. While The Met respectfully stands by its view that this artwork entered the inventory and was removed legally and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution welcomes and will consider any further evidence that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of BEG stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The effort to sue and smear the Foundation and the family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, twice. We are convinced it will be a third time.