🔗 Share this article

The heirs of a Jewish spouses have initiated legal proceedings against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a the Dutch artist art piece was stolen by the Third Reich.

Case History

Per the court documents, the Stern couple purchased the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their residence in Munich just before World War II.

The suit argues that the museum, which purchased the masterpiece in 1956 for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, ought to have been aware it was likely looted property. The descendants are now demanding the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through New York, states the lawsuit.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to California in 1936 with their large family due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the painting, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before they left, the Nazi government declared the painting as German cultural property and banned the family from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a Nazi official, a agent assigned by the Nazis disposed of the piece on the couple's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the auction were placed in a frozen account, which the regime later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the artwork arrived in NYC and was purchased by a wealthy American, a member of the Astor family. Subsequently, it was sold through a gallery to the museum, which then sold it to prominent shipowner Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair set up the BEG in 1979, which manages a institution in Athens where the painting is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The legal action claims that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have covered up the painting's ownership and location from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure how and when the foundation came into control of the piece; the family's possession of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Nazis looted the Painting from the heirs, pressured the Sterns into selling it via a trustee, and confiscated the money of the deal.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs filed a similar complaint in the state of California in the year 2022, but it was thrown out in the following years. An legal challenge was also rejected in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

The legal action contends that the institution's buying of the painting was approved by a curator, the institution's specialist of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the Painting had probably been stolen by Nazis.

The institution responded that it takes seriously its longstanding commitment to resolve issues related to WWII.

A spokesperson remarked: Not once during the institution's custody of the painting was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – in fact, that information did not become accessible until many years after the painting left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – specifically, it was recorded that the piece was considered to be of lower caliber than other works of the same type in the collection. Even though the institution respectfully stands by its position that this work entered the holdings and was deaccessioned lawfully and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met invites and will examine any further evidence that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

A lawyer acting for BEG said: BEG is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The action to litigate and defame the organization and the Goulandris family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was already thrown out, twice. We are confident it will be a third time.