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The descendants of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a Van Gogh art piece was looted by the Nazis.

Case History

Per the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich prior to the Second World War.

The legal action states that the institution, which acquired the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, must have realized it was likely confiscated property. The family are now requesting the restitution of the painting along with damages.

Following the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, purchased and sold in and through NYC, alleges the court document.

Family's Flight

The Sterns fled from Munich to California in the late 1930s with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. However, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime declared the artwork as German cultural property and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the regime sold the artwork on the family's behalf. But, the proceeds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or not long after, the artwork entered New York and was acquired by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Later, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the institution, which then sold it to prominent shipowner Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a institution in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Court Allegations

BEG and a family member of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the family and its associated organizations have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and location from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the foundation continue to obscure how and when the foundation came into possession of the piece; the family's possession of the Painting from several years; and the reality that the regime looted the Painting from the Stern family, pressured the family into disposing of it via a regime representative, and seized the money of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The family filed a comparable case in California in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in May 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint states that the institution's buying of the artwork was authorized by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had probably been looted by Nazis.

The museum responded that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to resolve issues related to WWII.

An official commented: At no time during the museum's possession of the piece was there any documentation that it had earlier been possessed to the family – indeed, that information did not become accessible until a long time after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – in particular, it was noted that the artwork was deemed to be of lesser quality than other works of the similar kind in the inventory. Even though The Met maintains its position that this piece entered the inventory and was sold legally and well within all standards and procedures, the Met is open to and will review any additional details that is discovered.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel on behalf of the foundation said: The institution is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The action to sue and smear the Foundation and the defendants in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, twice. We are confident it will be once more.