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The heirs of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was looted by the Nazis.

Historical Background

Per the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich, Germany on the eve of WWII.

The legal action contends that the institution, which obtained the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for $125,000, should have known it was almost certainly looted property. The family are now demanding the restitution of the painting along with damages.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, claims the court document.

Forced Emigration

The Sterns fled from Munich to America in the late 1930s with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in the late 19th century.

Prior to their departure, the regime declared the masterpiece as property of the state and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a Nazi official, a agent designated by the Nazis sold the artwork on the family's behalf. However, the proceeds from the sale were deposited in a blocked account, which the Nazis later seized.

Later Transactions

Around 1948, or not long after, the artwork was brought to NYC and was acquired by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then transferred it to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his wife, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a institution in the Greek capital where the painting is currently exhibited.

Claims and Defenses

The foundation and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The filing states that the defendants and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the family.

Even now, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the BEG came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the masterpiece from 1935 to 1938; and the facts that the regime looted the Painting from the Stern family, forced the Sterns into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants initiated a comparable case in CA in 2022, but it was rejected in the following years. An legal challenge was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint contends that the Met's purchase of the artwork was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the museum's curator of European art and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert must have known that the artwork had likely been seized by the regime.

The Met responded that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to resolve Nazi-era claims.

An official stated: At no time during the institution's custody of the painting was there any record that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – in fact, that knowledge did not become accessible until many years after the painting left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – specifically, it was documented that the artwork was judged to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the similar kind in the collection. Although the institution maintains its view that this piece entered the inventory and was deaccessioned properly and well within all standards and procedures, the museum invites and will examine any additional details that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel on behalf of BEG stated: BEG is a renowned institution in Athens. The effort to take legal action against the institution and the Goulandris family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was already thrown out, multiple times. We are certain it will be again.