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The family members of a Jewish pair have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a the Dutch artist oil painting was stolen by the Nazis.

Historical Background

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in 1935. The following year, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich just before World War II.

The complaint states that the Met, which acquired the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for $125,000, must have realized it was almost certainly confiscated property. The descendants are now seeking the return of the painting along with damages.

In the decades since World War II, this plundered piece has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, claims the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

The Sterns fled from the city of Munich to the United States in 1936 with their large family due to persecution by the Nazis. However, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government classified the artwork as a German cultural asset and prohibited the Sterns from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a representative assigned by the Nazis sold the artwork on the family's behalf. However, the funds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the Nazis later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or shortly after, the artwork entered the United States and was bought by a wealthy American, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the Met, which then sold it to prominent shipowner the magnate and his wife, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair established the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a museum in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a surviving nephew of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The lawsuit states that the family and its affiliates have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the family.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the institution came into control of the artwork; the family's possession of the masterpiece from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the Nazis stole the Painting from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the funds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a comparable case in CA in the year 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An appeal was also denied in spring 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint states that the museum's acquisition of the piece was authorized by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the artwork had probably been seized by the regime.

The Met responded that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

A spokesperson stated: Not once during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the heirs – actually, that knowledge did not become known until a long time after the painting left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for disposal – namely, it was documented that the piece was considered to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. While The Met maintains its position that this work entered the inventory and was deaccessioned legally and well within all standards and procedures, the Met is open to and will review any further evidence that is discovered.

Foundation's Defense

William Charron on behalf of the Goulandris Foundation said: BEG is a renowned institution in Athens. The attempt to sue and smear the institution and the Goulandris family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, on two occasions. We are certain it will be a third time.