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The descendants of a Jewish pair have brought a case against The Met, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was looted by the Third Reich.

Case History

Per the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their residence in Munich, Germany prior to WWII.

The suit contends that the museum, which acquired the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for $125,000, should have known it was probably stolen property. The heirs are now seeking the repatriation of the artwork along with financial restitution.

Following the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through NYC, states the court document.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from their Munich home to America in the late 1930s with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the artwork, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, the regime classified the artwork as property of the state and banned the couple from bringing it with them. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the Nazis auctioned the artwork on the couple's behalf. But, the proceeds from the auction were held in a restricted account, which the regime later seized.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or not long after, the artwork arrived in the United States and was bought by Vincent Astor, among the richest individuals in the US. Later, it was sold through a art dealer to the institution, which then passed it on to wealthy Greek businessman Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple established the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a museum in the Greek capital where the painting is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a living relative of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The filing claims that the family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the masterpiece's history and location from the heirs.

Even now, the foundation continue to hide the manner and time the foundation came into possession of the artwork; the family's possession of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the truth that the Third Reich stole the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the family into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the money of the deal.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family initiated a comparable case in California in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also dismissed in recently.

Museum's Response

The complaint contends that the institution's buying of the artwork was approved by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European paintings and a renowned specialist on art theft during the Nazi era. The institution and its expert must have known that the masterpiece had probably been looted by the regime.

The museum said in a statement that it prioritizes its longstanding commitment to handle issues related to WWII.

An official remarked: At no time during The Met's ownership of the painting was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the heirs – actually, that knowledge did not become known until several decades after the artwork left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for disposal – in particular, it was noted that the piece was considered to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the holdings. While the museum maintains its position that this work entered the inventory and was sold lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the Met welcomes and will consider any additional details that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of the foundation said: BEG is a esteemed foundation in the Greek capital. The action to take legal action against the organization and the family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, on two occasions. We are certain it will be again.