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The descendants of a Jewish spouses have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, alleging that a Van Gogh canvas was stolen by Nazi forces.

Case History

As stated in the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern purchased the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in the year 1935. A year after, they were forced to flee their dwelling in Munich on the eve of WWII.

The suit argues that the institution, which obtained the artwork in 1956 for a significant sum, ought to have been aware it was almost certainly confiscated property. The family are now requesting the repatriation of the painting along with damages.

In the decades since the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, states the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

The Sterns fled from their Munich home to the United States in the late 1930s with their large family due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime classified the painting as German cultural property and forbade the couple from exporting it. Following authorization from a regime representative, a trustee appointed by the authorities auctioned the painting on the Sterns' behalf. Yet, the funds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the authorities later took.

Later Transactions

Around 1948, or shortly after, the painting was brought to New York and was bought by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate Goulandris and his wife, Elise, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair established the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a institution in Athens, Greece where the painting is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a family member of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit claims that the Goulandris family and its related entities have hidden and obscured the masterpiece's history and current place from the family.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the BEG came into control of the piece; the Stern family's ownership of the masterpiece from several years; and the truth that the regime confiscated the canvas from the heirs, pressured the family into parting with it via a regime representative, and took the proceeds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The descendants initiated a similar complaint in California in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An appeal was also rejected in spring 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint states that the museum's acquisition of the painting was approved by the museum's expert, the museum's curator of European art and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met knew or should have known that the Painting had probably been seized by Nazis.

The institution issued a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to resolve Nazi-era claims.

A representative commented: Never during the museum's possession of the piece was there any documentation that it had earlier been possessed to the Stern family – actually, that knowledge did not become accessible until many years after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for disposal – namely, it was noted that the work was considered to be of lower caliber than other works of the same type in the inventory. Even though the museum respectfully stands by its view that this piece entered the holdings and was sold legally and well within all rules and regulations, the museum is open to and will review any further evidence that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel acting for BEG commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Greece. The action to take legal action against the Foundation and the family in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be a third time.