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The family members of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against The Met, claiming that a Van Gogh oil painting was stolen by the Nazis.

Origins of the Dispute

Per the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern purchased the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich, Germany just before the Second World War.

The complaint argues that the museum, which acquired the artwork in the mid-1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was almost certainly confiscated property. The heirs are now demanding the return of the painting along with compensation.

Since the end of the war, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through New York, claims the legal filing.

Family's Flight

The Sterns fled from Munich to America in 1936 with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Prior to their departure, the regime declared the artwork as a German cultural asset and prohibited the couple from taking it abroad. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a trustee assigned by the regime auctioned the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the money from the transaction were held in a frozen account, which the regime later took.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or shortly after, the artwork was brought to the United States and was bought by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was exchanged through a gallery to the Met, which then passed it on to wealthy Greek businessman Basil Goulandris and his wife, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

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

Legal Arguments

BEG and a family member of Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit states that the family and its related entities have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and current place from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the institution came into possession of the artwork; the family's possession of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the reality that the regime looted the artwork from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into disposing of it via a regime representative, and took the funds of the sale.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants filed a related lawsuit in California in 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An appeal was also dismissed in recently.

Institution's Statement

The complaint states that the institution's buying of the painting was sanctioned by a curator, the Met's authority of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the artwork had likely been stolen by Nazis.

The museum said in a statement that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to resolve issues related to WWII.

A representative commented: At no time during the institution's custody of the painting was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the Stern family – actually, that data did not become available until several decades after the artwork left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – specifically, it was noted that the artwork was judged to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the same type in the holdings. Although the institution upholds its position that this artwork entered the holdings and was deaccessioned lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the institution welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

BEG's Response

William Charron on behalf of BEG said: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Athens. The action to take legal action against the organization and the Goulandris family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, twice. We are confident it will be again.