🔗 Share this article

The family members of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against The Met, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was stolen by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

Per the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of WWII.

The legal action contends that the Met, which acquired the painting in 1956 for a significant sum, should have known it was probably confiscated property. The descendants are now demanding the repatriation of the painting along with damages.

Since the end of World War II, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, claims the court document.

Family's Flight

The Sterns departed from Munich to America in the late 1930s with their offspring due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Yet, they were prevented from taking the painting, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime declared the painting as a German cultural asset and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Nazi official, a representative assigned by the authorities disposed of the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the funds from the sale were deposited in a frozen account, which the regime later seized.

Post-War History

By 1948, or soon after, the artwork was brought to the United States and was purchased by Vincent Astor, among the richest individuals in the US. Eventually, it was sold through a gallery to the institution, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner the magnate and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a institution in Athens, Greece where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The legal action alleges that the family and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and location from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the foundation continue to obscure the circumstances the BEG came into possession of the piece; the couple's ownership of the Painting from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the regime confiscated the Painting from the family, pressured the family into parting with it via a regime representative, and took the proceeds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a related lawsuit in California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An further action was also rejected in May 2025.

Institution's Statement

The legal action states that the institution's buying of the painting was authorized by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of European paintings and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. The curator and the museum must have known that the masterpiece had likely been looted by the Nazis.

The institution said in a statement that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to address claims from the Nazi period.

A representative stated: At no time during the museum's possession of the painting was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the heirs – actually, that data did not become accessible until a long time after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for disposal – in particular, it was noted that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. Although the institution upholds its position that this piece entered the holdings and was sold properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of the foundation commented: BEG is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The effort to take legal action against the institution and the Goulandris family in the United States upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are convinced it will be a third time.