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The heirs of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, claiming that a Van Gogh canvas was looted by the Nazis.

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their home in Munich prior to the Second World War.

The complaint argues that the museum, which acquired the artwork in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was likely looted property. The descendants are now demanding the return of the painting along with damages.

In the decades since the war, this plundered piece has been often and discreetly exchanged, purchased and sold in and through the city of New York, claims the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

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

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government designated the masterpiece as a German cultural asset and forbade the family from bringing it with them. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a trustee designated by the authorities disposed of the artwork on the couple's behalf. But, the proceeds from the sale were held in a blocked account, which the regime later confiscated.

Post-War History

By 1948, or shortly after, the painting arrived in New York and was purchased by a wealthy American, among the richest individuals in the US. Eventually, it was transferred through a gallery to the museum, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a institution in the Greek capital where the painting is currently on display.

Court Allegations

The institution and a living relative of the magnate are identified in the suit. The filing states that the Goulandris family and its related entities have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and location from the family.

Currently, the defendants continue to conceal the circumstances the institution came into ownership of the piece; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the Third Reich confiscated the artwork from the family, coerced the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and took the proceeds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The descendants filed a comparable case in California in 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also dismissed in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint argues that the Met's purchase of the painting was approved by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European paintings and a leading authority on Nazi art looting. Rousseau and the Met were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had almost certainly been looted by the regime.

The Met responded that it is committed to its longstanding commitment to address issues related to WWII.

An official commented: Never during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the heirs – actually, that information did not become known until several decades after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for disposal – namely, it was noted that the artwork was considered to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the same type in the inventory. Even though the institution maintains its position that this artwork entered the collection and was deaccessioned legally and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution is open to and will review any additional details that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

A lawyer on behalf of the foundation commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in the Greek capital. The effort to take legal action against the institution and the Goulandris family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, on two occasions. We are certain it will be once more.