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The heirs of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh oil painting was looted by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

According to the legal filing, the Stern couple purchased the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich just before the Second World War.

The complaint states that the museum, which obtained the painting in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was likely stolen property. The family are now seeking the restitution of the artwork along with financial restitution.

Following World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through New York, claims the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to America in the late 1930s with their six children due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was created by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, Nazi authorities declared the masterpiece as a German cultural asset and forbade the couple from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a regime representative, a agent designated by the regime disposed of the piece on the family's behalf. However, the proceeds from the auction were deposited in a restricted account, which the Nazis later seized.

Later Transactions

In 1948, or soon after, the painting was brought to NYC and was purchased by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the museum, which then transferred it to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair established the BEG in 1979, which operates a museum in the Greek capital where the painting is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The foundation and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The lawsuit claims that the defendants and its associated organizations have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the heirs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the BEG came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the regime stole the canvas from the heirs, pressured the couple into disposing of it via a regime representative, and confiscated the proceeds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a comparable case in the state of California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in recently.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit argues that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European paintings and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had probably been seized by Nazis.

The Met responded that it prioritizes its longstanding commitment to address claims from the Nazi period.

A representative remarked: At no time during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any record that it had earlier been possessed to the Stern family – actually, that knowledge did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – in particular, it was documented that the artwork was judged to be of lesser quality than other works of the same type in the holdings. Although The Met upholds its position that this work entered the collection and was deaccessioned properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

BEG's Response

A lawyer representing BEG stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The action to take legal action against the organization and the defendants in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was already thrown out, multiple times. We are confident it will be once more.