The Met Confronts Lawsuit Over Reportedly Nazi-Looted Van Gogh Painting

The heirs of a Jewish couple have initiated legal proceedings against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh art piece was seized by Nazi forces.

Case History

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the piece, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. Just one year later, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in the German city of Munich just before WWII.

The suit argues that the institution, which acquired the masterpiece in the 1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, ought to have been aware it was likely looted property. The heirs are now requesting the restitution of the canvas along with damages.

Since the end of the war, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, states the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

The Stern family escaped from the city of Munich to America in 1936 with their large family due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the painting, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, Nazi authorities designated the artwork as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a representative assigned by the regime sold the piece on the Sterns' behalf. But, the funds from the sale were held in a blocked account, which the authorities later took.

Post-War History

Around 1948, or not long after, the canvas arrived in the United States and was bought by a wealthy American, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple founded the BEG in 1979, which operates a museum in the Greek capital where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a family member of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the family and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and current place from the plaintiffs.

To this day, the defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the foundation came into possession of the piece; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the reality that the Third Reich confiscated the Painting from the family, forced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the money of the sale.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants initiated a similar complaint in CA in 2022, but it was thrown out in the following years. An further action was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint argues that the Met's purchase of the piece was sanctioned by a curator, the museum's curator of Old Masters and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had almost certainly been stolen by Nazis.

The Met responded that it is committed to its longstanding commitment to handle claims from the Nazi period.

A representative remarked: Not once during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the family – in fact, that information did not become available until a long time after the painting left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – specifically, it was documented that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the holdings. Although The Met upholds its position that this artwork entered the collection and was deaccessioned properly and well within all standards and procedures, the Met welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel on behalf of BEG commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The action to litigate and defame the institution and the family in the America upon inaccurate and partial claims was already thrown out, multiple times. We are certain it will be again.