The family members of a Jewish spouses have initiated legal proceedings against The Met, alleging that a the Dutch artist art piece was looted by the Nazis.
According to the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. The following year, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich on the eve of the Second World War.
The complaint states that the museum, which acquired the painting in 1956 for $125,000, should have known it was almost certainly confiscated property. The family are now seeking the restitution of the artwork along with financial restitution.
Since the end of World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through NYC, states the lawsuit.
Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to America in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in the late 19th century.
Before they left, the regime declared the artwork as German cultural property and forbade the Sterns from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a trustee designated by the Nazis auctioned the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the money from the auction were placed in a restricted account, which the Nazis later seized.
By 1948, or shortly after, the artwork was brought to New York and was bought by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the institution, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.
Basil and Elise founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which operates a gallery in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently shown.
The foundation and a surviving nephew of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The filing alleges that the defendants and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.
To this day, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the BEG came into control of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the facts that the Nazis stole the Painting from the heirs, forced the couple into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the money of the transaction.
The descendants initiated a similar complaint in CA in the year 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An appeal was also denied in spring 2025.
The legal action argues that the museum's acquisition of the piece was approved by a curator, the Met's authority of European paintings and a renowned specialist on art theft during the Nazi era. The institution and its expert must have known that the masterpiece had likely been seized by the regime.
The institution issued a statement that it is committed to its ongoing pledge to address issues related to WWII.
An official stated: At no time during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the heirs – in fact, that information did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.
The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – namely, it was documented that the artwork was deemed to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. Even though the institution respectfully stands by its stance that this piece entered the collection and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution is open to and will review any further evidence that comes to light.
William Charron on behalf of BEG said: BEG is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The effort to litigate and defame the Foundation and the defendants in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are convinced it will be again.
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