Metropolitan Museum Confronts Lawsuit Over Reportedly Nazi-Plundered Van Gogh Masterpiece
The family members of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, alleging that a Van Gogh canvas was seized by the Nazis.
Case History
Per the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of WWII.
The legal action argues that the institution, which acquired the artwork in 1956 for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, should have known it was probably looted property. The heirs are now demanding the repatriation of the painting along with financial restitution.
Since the end of the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, claims the court document.
Family's Flight
The Sterns departed from their Munich home to America in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. However, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.
Prior to their departure, the Nazi government declared the artwork as a German cultural asset and banned the family from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the Nazis auctioned the piece on the couple's behalf. But, the money from the auction were placed in a frozen account, which the authorities later confiscated.
Post-War History
In 1948, or shortly after, the painting entered NYC and was bought by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the institution, which then sold it to prominent shipowner the magnate and his wife, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.
The Goulandris pair set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a institution in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.
Legal Arguments
The foundation and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The lawsuit alleges that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.
Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal how and when the BEG came into ownership of the Painting; the family's possession of the masterpiece from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the Nazis stole the artwork from the family, pressured the family into parting with it via a regime representative, and confiscated the proceeds of the sale.
Previous Legal Action
The family initiated a comparable case in California in 2022, but it was thrown out in the following years. An further action was also dismissed in May 2025.
Museum's Response
The lawsuit contends that the museum's acquisition of the piece was approved by a curator, the museum's curator of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum knew or should have known that the masterpiece had probably been stolen by the regime.
The Met said in a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to address claims from the Nazi period.
A spokesperson remarked: Not once during the museum's possession of the artwork was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the family – in fact, that data did not become accessible until a long time after the masterpiece left the Met's possession.
The Met's sale of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for removal from collection – specifically, it was documented that the work was deemed to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the similar kind in the inventory. Although the museum respectfully stands by its stance that this work entered the inventory and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met welcomes and will consider any additional details that comes to light.
Foundation's Defense
Legal counsel representing the foundation stated: The institution is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The effort to sue and smear the Foundation and the family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was already thrown out, multiple times. We are certain it will be once more.
