🔗 Share this article

The family members of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was looted by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

As stated in the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern purchased the painting, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were compelled to leave their residence in the German city of Munich just before the Second World War.

The legal action contends that the Met, which purchased the artwork in 1956 for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, should have known it was likely stolen property. The family are now seeking the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

Since the end of the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through the city of New York, claims the lawsuit.

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 Nazi persecution. Yet, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities declared the masterpiece as property of the state and forbade the couple from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a regime representative, a agent appointed by the authorities auctioned the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the funds from the sale were placed in a restricted account, which the Nazis later seized.

Later Transactions

Around 1948, or shortly after, the painting arrived in the United States and was bought by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner the magnate and his wife, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a institution in Athens where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a family member of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants and its related entities have covered up the painting's ownership and location from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the defendants continue to obscure the circumstances the BEG came into control of the piece; the family's possession of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the Nazis stole the Painting from the Stern family, pressured the Sterns into selling it via a trustee, and took the proceeds of the deal.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a related lawsuit in California in recently, but it was rejected in the following years. An legal challenge was also dismissed in spring 2025.

Museum's Response

The legal action contends that the institution's buying of the artwork was sanctioned by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of European art and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum knew or should have known that the masterpiece had almost certainly been seized by the Nazis.

The Met issued a statement that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to address issues related to WWII.

A spokesperson stated: Never during the museum's possession of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the heirs – in fact, that data did not become accessible until several decades after the masterpiece left the Met's possession.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for removal from collection – namely, it was recorded that the work was deemed to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the similar kind in the collection. Even though the museum upholds its stance that this work entered the collection and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the museum welcomes and will consider any additional details that comes to light.

Foundation's Defense

A lawyer acting for the Goulandris Foundation stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The action to take legal action against the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the United States upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, on two occasions. We are convinced it will be a third time.