🔗 Share this article

The descendants of a Jewish pair have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, claiming that a the Dutch artist canvas was stolen by the Nazis.

Case History

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich, Germany prior to World War II.

The suit contends that the museum, which purchased the artwork in 1956 for a significant sum, ought to have been aware it was almost certainly confiscated property. The heirs are now requesting the restitution of the artwork along with financial restitution.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through New York, alleges the lawsuit.

Forced Emigration

The Stern family departed from Munich to America in 1936 with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, Nazi authorities declared the artwork as German cultural property and banned the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a regime representative, a representative appointed by the regime disposed of the painting on the couple's behalf. Yet, the funds from the auction were deposited in a blocked account, which the authorities later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or not long after, the canvas entered New York and was acquired by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Eventually, it was sold through a gallery to the Met, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a museum in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a surviving nephew of the magnate are listed as respondents. The legal action alleges that the defendants and its affiliates have covered up the masterpiece's history and location from the heirs.

Currently, the foundation continue to obscure the circumstances the BEG came into control of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the regime confiscated the artwork from the heirs, forced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the funds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The family filed a comparable case in CA in 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An further action was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit contends that the institution's buying of the painting was authorized by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert must have known that the artwork had likely been seized by the regime.

The institution responded that it prioritizes its historical dedication to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

An official remarked: Never during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – actually, that knowledge did not become available until several decades after the painting left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of the Van Gogh met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – namely, it was noted that the work was deemed to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the same type in the inventory. Although the institution respectfully stands by its stance that this piece entered the collection and was sold properly and well within all rules and regulations, the institution welcomes and will consider any new information that comes to light.

Foundation's Defense

William Charron representing the foundation said: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The attempt to litigate and defame the Foundation and the defendants in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are certain it will be a third time.