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The family members of a Jewish couple have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was looted by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the painting, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their dwelling in Munich, Germany prior to the Second World War.

The complaint contends that the museum, which purchased the masterpiece in the 1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was almost certainly confiscated property. The family are now seeking the return of the canvas along with damages.

In the decades since WWII, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, purchased and sold in and through NYC, states the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from their Munich home to California in the late 1930s with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were barred from transporting the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, Nazi authorities designated the masterpiece as property of the state and prohibited the family from bringing it with them. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a agent appointed by the authorities auctioned the painting on the couple's behalf. Yet, the money from the sale were placed in a blocked account, which the Nazis later took.

Later Transactions

Around 1948, or not long after, the canvas was brought to NYC and was purchased by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a gallery to the institution, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his spouse, Elise Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

Basil and Elise set up the BEG in 1979, which runs a institution in Athens, Greece where the artwork is currently on display.

Court Allegations

BEG and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The filing claims that the family and its associated organizations have concealed and disguised the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the family.

Even now, the defendants continue to hide the circumstances the BEG came into possession of the piece; the family's possession of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the Nazis stole the Painting from the family, forced the Sterns into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the proceeds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants initiated a related lawsuit in California in recently, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in spring 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint contends that the institution's buying of the painting was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum must have known that the artwork had likely been seized by the regime.

The institution responded that it takes seriously its historical dedication to address claims from the Nazi period.

A representative remarked: Not once during the museum's possession of the piece was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the heirs – actually, that information did not become known until several decades after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – in particular, it was noted that the work was judged to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the similar kind in the inventory. Even though the institution maintains its stance that this work entered the holdings and was removed properly and well within all standards and procedures, the institution welcomes and will consider any new information that comes to light.

BEG's Response

William Charron representing the Goulandris Foundation commented: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The action to take legal action against the Foundation and the family in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are certain it will be once more.