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The descendants of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Met, claiming that a Van Gogh art piece was seized by Nazi forces.

Case History

Per the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their dwelling in the German city of Munich prior to WWII.

The legal action states that the Met, which obtained the artwork in the mid-1950s for $125,000, must have realized it was probably confiscated property. The family are now requesting the return of the canvas along with compensation.

In the decades since WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through New York, alleges the lawsuit.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from their Munich home to the United States in the late 1930s with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government classified the artwork as German cultural property and prohibited the Sterns from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a Nazi official, a agent appointed by the Nazis auctioned the painting on the family's behalf. But, the funds from the auction were held in a frozen account, which the Nazis later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

By 1948, or shortly after, the canvas entered New York and was bought by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the institution, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman the magnate and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair founded the BEG in 1979, which manages a institution in Athens where the artwork is currently shown.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action claims that the defendants and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the artwork's provenance and location from the family.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the BEG came into possession of the artwork; the family's possession of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the truth that the Third Reich looted the canvas from the Stern family, forced the Sterns into selling it via a trustee, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family filed a similar complaint in CA in 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in recently.

Museum's Response

The complaint states that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the Met's authority of European paintings and a renowned specialist on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the Painting had likely been stolen by the Nazis.

The museum said in a statement that it prioritizes its longstanding commitment to resolve Nazi-era claims.

An official stated: Never during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any documentation that it had earlier been possessed to the family – in fact, that data did not become available until a long time after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The institution's deaccessioning of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – in particular, it was recorded that the artwork was deemed to be of inferior standard than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the holdings. While the museum respectfully stands by its view that this work entered the holdings and was deaccessioned legally and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met is open to and will review any further evidence that comes to light.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of the Goulandris Foundation commented: BEG is a esteemed foundation in the Greek capital. The action to take legal action against the Foundation and the defendants in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, twice. We are confident it will be a third time.