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The heirs of a Jewish spouses have filed a lawsuit against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was looted by the Nazis.

Historical Background

According to the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of World War II.

The complaint contends that the institution, which obtained the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, must have realized it was almost certainly looted property. The family are now demanding the restitution of the painting along with financial restitution.

In the decades since the war, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through the city of New York, alleges the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

The Stern family escaped from the city of Munich to America in the late 1930s with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Yet, they were prevented from taking the artwork, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime classified the painting as property of the state and prohibited the family from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a representative assigned by the authorities auctioned the piece on the couple's behalf. However, the funds from the transaction were held in a restricted account, which the authorities later took.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the canvas entered NYC and was bought by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was sold through a gallery to the museum, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate Goulandris and his wife, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise founded the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a gallery in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently shown.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a family member of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The filing alleges that the defendants and its associated organizations have covered up the painting's ownership and location from the heirs.

Currently, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the foundation came into possession of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the Third Reich stole the Painting from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Prior Cases

The descendants filed a similar complaint in California in recently, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The legal action states that the museum's acquisition of the painting was authorized by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the masterpiece had likely been stolen by the Nazis.

The Met responded that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to address claims from the Nazi period.

A representative commented: At no time during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the family – in fact, that information did not become known until a long time after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for disposal – in particular, it was recorded that the artwork was judged to be of lower caliber than other works of the comparable nature in the holdings. While the museum maintains its stance that this work entered the holdings and was sold legally and well within all rules and regulations, the Met is open to and will review any further evidence that comes to light.

BEG's Response

William Charron representing the Goulandris Foundation said: The institution is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The attempt to litigate and defame the institution and the family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be once more.