🔗 Share this article

The family members of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was looted by Nazi forces.

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. The following year, they were forced to flee their residence in the German city of Munich prior to World War II.

The complaint argues that the museum, which purchased the artwork in 1956 for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was probably stolen property. The descendants are now demanding the return of the painting along with financial restitution.

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

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from the city of Munich to America in the late 1930s with their large family due to the oppressive Nazi regime. However, they were unable to bring the painting, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities declared the masterpiece as property of the state and banned the couple from taking it abroad. Once approved from a regime representative, a agent appointed by the Nazis disposed of the painting on the Sterns' behalf. Yet, the money from the sale were held in a restricted account, which the regime later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or soon after, the painting entered New York and was acquired by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was transferred through a art dealer to the institution, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his partner, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair established the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a museum in Athens where the masterpiece is currently shown.

Court Allegations

The institution and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the family and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and location from the heirs.

Currently, the defendants continue to conceal how and when the institution came into control of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the truth that the regime confiscated the canvas from the heirs, coerced the family into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the proceeds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs initiated a comparable case in the state of California in 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The legal action states that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the artwork had almost certainly been looted by the regime.

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

A representative stated: Not once during the museum's possession of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the heirs – indeed, that knowledge did not become accessible until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – specifically, it was noted that the artwork was considered to be of lesser quality than other works of the similar kind in the holdings. While the museum maintains its position that this piece entered the inventory and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met welcomes and will consider any new information that emerges.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel on behalf of the foundation stated: BEG is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The attempt to take legal action against the institution and the family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was already thrown out, on two occasions. We are confident it will be a third time.