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The family members of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was looted by Nazi forces.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. The following year, they were forced to flee their residence in the German city of Munich prior to World War II.

The suit states that the Met, which obtained the painting in 1956 for $125,000, should have known it was probably stolen property. The descendants are now demanding the restitution of the painting along with compensation.

Since the end of the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, states the court document.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to California in the late 1930s with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the painting, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before they left, Nazi authorities designated the masterpiece as German cultural property and banned the family from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a agent appointed by the regime auctioned the painting on the Sterns' behalf. However, the funds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Post-War History

By 1948, or soon after, the artwork entered the United States and was bought by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was exchanged through a gallery to the Met, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate Goulandris and his spouse, Elise Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair founded the Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a institution in Athens where the artwork is currently exhibited.

Court Allegations

The foundation and a living relative of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The legal action alleges that the defendants and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the painting's ownership and location from the family.

Even now, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the institution came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the regime stole the artwork from the family, forced the family into parting with it via a trustee, and took the proceeds of the deal.

Previous Legal Action

The family initiated a comparable case in CA in the year 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in recently.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit argues that the Met's purchase of the painting was sanctioned by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the masterpiece had likely been stolen by Nazis.

The Met responded that it is committed to its longstanding commitment to resolve Nazi-era claims.

A spokesperson remarked: Never during the museum's possession of the piece was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – indeed, that data did not become accessible until a long time after the painting left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for disposal – namely, it was documented that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the same type in the holdings. Although the institution upholds its view that this artwork entered the holdings and was sold properly and well within all rules and regulations, the Met is open to and will review any additional details that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel acting for BEG stated: The institution is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The effort to litigate and defame the institution and the defendants in the US upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, on two occasions. We are certain it will be again.