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The family members of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was stolen by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

As stated in the legal filing, the Stern couple acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their dwelling in Munich, Germany on the eve of the Second World War.

The legal action contends that the Met, which purchased the painting in the 1950s for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was probably confiscated property. The descendants are now demanding the repatriation of the painting along with financial restitution.

In the decades since World War II, this stolen artwork has been frequently and covertly traded, purchased and sold in and through the city of New York, alleges the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from their Munich home to California in 1936 with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in the late 19th century.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities declared the artwork as German cultural property and banned the Sterns from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Nazi official, a trustee appointed by the authorities disposed of the piece on the couple's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the sale were placed in a frozen account, which the Nazis later seized.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or not long after, the artwork entered New York and was purchased by Vincent Astor, among the richest individuals in the US. Eventually, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his wife, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise established the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a institution in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a surviving nephew of the magnate are listed as respondents. The lawsuit alleges that the family and its associated organizations have covered up the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the heirs.

Even now, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the BEG came into ownership of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from the mid-1930s; and the truth that the regime stole the artwork from the Stern family, coerced the family into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants filed a related lawsuit in the state of California in recently, but it was thrown out in the following years. An legal challenge was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit states that the institution's buying of the painting was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of European art and a leading authority on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the Painting had probably been stolen by the regime.

The Met responded that it takes seriously its longstanding commitment to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

An official stated: At no time during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the heirs – indeed, that data did not become known until many years after the masterpiece left the Met's possession.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – namely, it was noted that the piece was considered to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the similar kind in the collection. Even though the institution respectfully stands by its stance that this artwork entered the inventory and was sold legally and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met invites and will examine any additional details that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel representing the foundation stated: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The action to litigate and defame the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, twice. We are certain it will be once more.