The Met Responds to Lawsuit Over Reportedly Nazi-Stolen Van Gogh Masterpiece

The heirs of a Jewish pair have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh oil painting was seized by the Third Reich.

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the legal filing, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their residence in the German city of Munich prior to WWII.

The complaint states that the Met, which purchased the artwork in the mid-1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was almost certainly stolen property. The descendants are now demanding the repatriation of the painting along with financial restitution.

Since the end of World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, alleges the lawsuit.

Forced Emigration

The Sterns departed from the city of Munich to California in 1936 with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, the Nazi government classified the masterpiece as German cultural property and banned the Sterns from bringing it with them. After obtaining permission from a regime representative, a agent appointed by the Nazis disposed of the painting on the couple's behalf. However, the money from the sale were placed in a restricted account, which the regime later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or shortly after, the artwork arrived in the United States and was acquired by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was sold through a gallery to the Met, which then sold it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Greek couple established the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a institution in Athens where the painting is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a living relative of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The filing states that the defendants and its associated organizations have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the heirs.

To this day, the foundation continue to obscure the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the masterpiece from several years; and the reality that the Nazis looted the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the couple into disposing of it via a trustee, and took the funds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a related lawsuit in the state of California in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also dismissed in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit argues that the museum's acquisition of the painting was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of European art and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum must have known that the artwork had almost certainly been looted by the Nazis.

The museum issued a statement that it takes seriously its longstanding commitment to handle issues related to WWII.

An official stated: At no time during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any record that it had previously been owned to the heirs – in fact, that information did not become accessible until a long time after the painting left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of the Van Gogh met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – namely, it was documented that the piece was judged to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. Even though the museum upholds its view that this piece entered the holdings and was deaccessioned properly and well within all rules and regulations, the institution welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel on behalf of the Goulandris Foundation said: The institution is a renowned institution in Greece. The attempt to take legal action against the Foundation and the family in the US upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, twice. We are convinced it will be again.