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The descendants of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was looted by Nazi forces.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the court documents, the Stern couple acquired the piece, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. A year after, they were forced to flee their home in Munich, Germany on the eve of WWII.

The suit argues that the institution, which acquired the painting in 1956 for a significant sum, must have realized it was probably looted property. The descendants are now requesting the repatriation of the canvas along with financial restitution.

In the decades since World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, states the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to the United States in the late 1930s with their large family due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, Nazi authorities designated the painting as German cultural property and forbade the Sterns from taking it abroad. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the authorities sold the painting on the couple's behalf. However, the proceeds from the transaction were deposited in a restricted account, which the authorities later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or shortly after, the canvas entered NYC and was acquired by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was exchanged through a gallery to the Met, which then passed it on to wealthy Greek businessman Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise established the Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which operates a museum in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Court Allegations

The foundation and a family member of Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action claims that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the family.

To this day, the foundation continue to hide the manner and time the institution came into ownership of the Painting; the family's possession of the artwork from 1935 to 1938; and the truth that the regime stole the Painting from the Stern family, forced the family into selling it via a trustee, and seized the proceeds of the deal.

Earlier Lawsuits

The Stern heirs initiated a related lawsuit in CA in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An further action was also denied in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

The legal action states that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of Old Masters and a leading authority on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had probably been seized by the regime.

The institution said in a statement that it is committed to its longstanding commitment to address claims from the Nazi period.

An official remarked: At no time during the institution's custody of the painting was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the heirs – indeed, that information did not become known until several decades after the painting left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – in particular, it was recorded that the work was considered to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the same type in the inventory. Although the institution respectfully stands by its view that this work entered the inventory and was deaccessioned properly and well within all standards and procedures, the Met invites and will examine any new information that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel acting for the foundation said: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The attempt to sue and smear the institution and the defendants in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, twice. We are certain it will be a third time.