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The heirs of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh oil painting was seized by Nazi forces.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich, Germany on the eve of the Second World War.

The suit states that the institution, which obtained the artwork in the 1950s for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was likely confiscated property. The descendants are now requesting the restitution of the canvas along with compensation.

Following World War II, this plundered piece has been often and discreetly exchanged, bought and sold in and through NYC, states the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

The Sterns escaped from Munich to America in the late 1930s with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Yet, they were barred from transporting the artwork, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities classified the painting as property of the state and banned the family from exporting it. Following authorization from a regime representative, a representative assigned by the authorities disposed of the painting on the couple's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the sale were placed in a restricted account, which the regime later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or not long after, the canvas was brought to the United States and was purchased by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the institution, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner the magnate and his partner, Elise, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair set up the BEG in the late 1970s, which manages a institution in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Court Allegations

The foundation and a surviving nephew of the magnate are named as defendants. The lawsuit claims that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the family.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure the circumstances the institution came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the facts that the Third Reich looted the canvas from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the money of the sale.

Earlier Lawsuits

The Stern heirs submitted a related lawsuit in CA in 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An appeal was also rejected in spring 2025.

Museum's Response

The legal action contends that the institution's buying of the artwork was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum knew or should have known that the Painting had almost certainly been stolen by the Nazis.

The institution responded that it is committed to its ongoing pledge to address issues related to WWII.

A spokesperson commented: Not once during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the heirs – in fact, that knowledge did not become accessible until several decades after the painting left the institution's holdings.

The institution's deaccessioning of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – namely, it was documented that the piece was judged to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the same type in the collection. Even though the museum upholds its view that this artwork entered the inventory and was removed properly and well within all rules and regulations, the museum welcomes and will consider any new information that is discovered.

BEG's Response

A lawyer representing the Goulandris Foundation commented: BEG is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The attempt to litigate and defame the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, on two occasions. We are confident it will be again.