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The family members of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was looted by the Third Reich.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in 1935. A year after, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in Munich, Germany on the eve of WWII.

The suit states that the Met, which obtained the artwork in the mid-1950s for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was probably looted property. The heirs are now requesting the repatriation of the painting along with compensation.

Following WWII, this plundered piece has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, claims the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

The Stern family escaped from Munich to America in the late 1930s with their large family due to Nazi persecution. However, they were prevented from taking the painting, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Prior to their departure, the Nazi government declared the artwork as German cultural property and banned the Sterns from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Nazi official, a trustee designated by the regime disposed of the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the money from the transaction were deposited in a blocked account, which the Nazis later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or not long after, the artwork entered NYC and was purchased by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a gallery to the museum, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in Athens, Greece where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have covered up the painting's ownership and current place from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the foundation continue to conceal how and when the BEG came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the truth that the regime confiscated the canvas from the heirs, pressured the Sterns into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the money of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The Stern heirs filed a comparable case in CA in the year 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An further action was also denied in spring 2025.

The Met's Position

The legal action contends that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was approved by a curator, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the masterpiece had probably been looted by the regime.

The Met said in a statement that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to handle claims from the Nazi period.

A spokesperson stated: Never during the museum's possession of the artwork was there any record that it had once belonged to the family – in fact, that data did not become known until a long time after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – in particular, it was noted that the work was deemed to be of inferior standard than other works of the comparable nature in the collection. While the institution respectfully stands by its view that this artwork entered the collection and was removed properly and well within all rules and regulations, the Met invites and will examine any additional details that emerges.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel representing the Goulandris Foundation stated: BEG is a renowned institution in Athens. The effort to take legal action against the organization and the Goulandris family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, on two occasions. We are convinced it will be again.