The Met Confronts Lawsuit Over Allegedly Nazi-Plundered Van Gogh Painting

The descendants of a Jewish couple have initiated legal proceedings against The Met, alleging that a Van Gogh canvas was seized by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

Per the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of the Second World War.

The complaint contends that the museum, which acquired the artwork in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was probably looted property. The family are now demanding the repatriation of the painting along with compensation.

Following World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, states the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

The Stern family escaped from their Munich home to the United States in 1936 with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the artwork, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime declared the painting as German cultural property and prohibited the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a representative designated by the regime auctioned the artwork on the family's behalf. Yet, the funds from the sale were held in a restricted account, which the authorities later seized.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or not long after, the painting entered the United States and was acquired by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the museum, which then sold it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a museum in Athens where the artwork is currently shown.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a surviving nephew of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit claims that the Goulandris family and its related entities have covered up the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to hide the manner and time the institution came into control of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the regime confiscated the artwork from the family, forced the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and took the funds of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The Stern heirs filed a comparable case in California in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in May 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint contends that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was approved by a curator, the Met's authority of European art and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had almost certainly been stolen by the Nazis.

The institution responded that it is committed to its historical dedication to address issues related to WWII.

An official stated: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any record that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – actually, that data did not become available until several decades after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – specifically, it was recorded that the work was considered to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the inventory. Although the museum respectfully stands by its position that this artwork entered the collection and was removed lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the Met is open to and will review any further evidence that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron representing the Goulandris Foundation stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The attempt to sue and smear the institution and the family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are certain it will be again.