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The descendants of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh art piece was stolen by Nazi forces.

Historical Background

According to the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the painting, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in the German city of Munich just before the Second World War.

The suit argues that the museum, which acquired the painting in the mid-1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was likely stolen property. The family are now demanding the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

In the decades since the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, claims the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

The Stern family escaped from Munich to the United States in 1936 with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was created by the renowned Dutch in the late 19th century.

Before they left, the regime declared the masterpiece as German cultural property and banned the couple from exporting it. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a agent appointed by the Nazis disposed of the painting on the Sterns' behalf. Yet, the money from the auction were placed in a restricted account, which the Nazis later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or soon after, the painting arrived in NYC and was purchased by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the institution, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair established the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in Athens, Greece where the painting is currently shown.

Court Allegations

BEG and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit states that the family and its related entities have covered up the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure the circumstances the institution came into control of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Third Reich confiscated the Painting from the Stern family, forced the couple into selling it via a regime representative, and seized the proceeds of the deal.

Previous Legal Action

The family submitted a related lawsuit in the state of California in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in recently.

The Met's Position

The complaint argues that the museum's acquisition of the painting was authorized by a curator, the Met's authority of Old Masters and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the artwork had likely been stolen by the regime.

The institution issued a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to resolve issues related to WWII.

A representative remarked: Never during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the heirs – actually, that data did not become available until several decades after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – specifically, it was recorded that the piece was considered to be of inferior standard than other works of the comparable nature in the inventory. Although The Met maintains its stance that this work entered the inventory and was deaccessioned legally and well within all standards and procedures, the institution welcomes and will consider any new information that emerges.

BEG's Response

A lawyer acting for the foundation stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The attempt to take legal action against the institution and the defendants in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, multiple times. We are convinced it will be a third time.