The descendants of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh oil painting was looted by Nazi forces.
Origins of the Dispute
As stated in the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their home in Munich, Germany just before the Second World War.
The legal action argues that the museum, which purchased the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for a significant sum, ought to have been aware it was likely stolen property. The heirs are now demanding the return of the artwork along with damages.
In the decades since WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, claims the legal filing.
The Sterns' Escape
The Sterns fled from their Munich home to America in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were prevented from taking the artwork, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889.
Prior to their departure, the regime classified the masterpiece as a German cultural asset and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a regime representative, a trustee assigned by the Nazis disposed of the piece on the family's behalf. However, the proceeds from the sale were deposited in a blocked account, which the regime later confiscated.
Later Transactions
Around 1948, or soon after, the painting entered NYC and was purchased by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Subsequently, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman the magnate and his spouse, Elise, in the early 1970s.
The Greek couple established the BEG in the late 1970s, which operates a museum in Athens where the artwork is currently exhibited.
Claims and Defenses
BEG and a family member of Goulandris are named as defendants. The filing states that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the painting's ownership and current place from the plaintiffs.
Currently, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the regime confiscated the artwork from the heirs, forced the couple into disposing of it via a regime representative, and took the money of the transaction.
Prior Cases
The family filed a related lawsuit in California in 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An appeal was also rejected in spring 2025.
Institution's Statement
The legal action argues that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was approved by a curator, the museum's curator of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the masterpiece had likely been looted by the regime.
The museum said in a statement that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge 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 earlier been possessed to the Stern family – indeed, that data did not become available until a long time after the painting left the institution's holdings.
The museum's disposal of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – in particular, it was documented that the work was deemed to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the holdings. Although the museum upholds its stance that this work entered the inventory and was deaccessioned properly and well within all standards and procedures, the Met invites and will examine any additional details that comes to light.
Goulandris Statement
William Charron representing the Goulandris Foundation stated: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The effort to sue and smear the organization and the Goulandris family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.
