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The family members of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against The Met, asserting that a the Dutch artist art piece was looted by Nazi forces.

Historical Background

According to the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the piece, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were compelled to leave their residence in Munich on the eve of World War II.

The legal action states that the institution, which acquired the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was almost certainly stolen property. The family are now seeking the return of the canvas along with damages.

In the decades since World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, purchased and sold in and through NYC, states the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from their Munich home to California in 1936 with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the renowned Dutch in the late 19th century.

Before they left, the regime designated the painting as property of the state and prohibited the family from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the authorities auctioned the piece on the couple's behalf. But, the proceeds from the auction were placed in a restricted account, which the authorities later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

By 1948, or soon after, the artwork entered NYC and was purchased by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was sold through a gallery to the institution, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise founded the BEG in 1979, which operates a institution in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are named as defendants. The filing claims that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have covered up the artwork's provenance and location from the family.

Currently, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the BEG came into possession of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the facts that the Third Reich looted the Painting from the Stern family, pressured the Sterns into selling it via a regime representative, and confiscated the money of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants initiated a comparable case in California in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An legal challenge was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The complaint contends that the Met's purchase of the piece was approved by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of Old Masters and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the Painting had probably been stolen by the Nazis.

The institution issued a statement that it prioritizes its longstanding commitment to handle issues related to WWII.

An official commented: At no time 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 known until several decades after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – in particular, it was documented that the work was judged to be of inferior standard than additional artworks of the same type in the collection. Although the institution maintains its view that this piece entered the inventory and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution welcomes and will consider any additional details that comes to light.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron acting for the Goulandris Foundation commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Greece. The action to take legal action against the organization and the defendants in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be once more.