🔗 Share this article The Met Confronts Legal Challenge Over Allegedly Nazi-Looted Van Gogh Masterpiece The descendants of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was stolen by Nazi forces. Case History As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the piece, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. The following year, they were obliged to escape their residence in Munich prior to WWII. The complaint states that the museum, which purchased the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was almost certainly looted property. The family are now demanding the return of the painting along with financial restitution. In the decades since World War II, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, bought and sold in and through New York, claims the legal filing. Forced Emigration Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from the city of Munich to America in the late 1930s with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were barred from transporting the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the celebrated artist in 1889. Prior to their departure, the Nazi government designated the painting as property of the state and prohibited the family from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a regime representative, a trustee assigned by the authorities sold the artwork on the couple's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the sale were held in a frozen account, which the regime later took. Subsequent Ownership By 1948, or not long after, the canvas entered NYC and was bought by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972. The Greek couple founded the BEG in 1979, which operates a museum in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently exhibited. Claims and Defenses BEG and a family member of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the family and its affiliates have hidden and obscured the masterpiece's history and current place from the plaintiffs. Currently, the foundation continue to obscure the circumstances the BEG came into control of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Third Reich looted the Painting from the heirs, coerced the couple into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the proceeds of the transaction. Previous Legal Action The Stern heirs filed a comparable case in CA in recently, but it was dismissed in 2024. An further action was also rejected in May 2025. Museum's Response The legal action contends that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was sanctioned by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the artwork had likely been stolen by Nazis. The institution said in a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to handle claims from the Nazi period. A spokesperson commented: Not once during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any evidence that it had earlier been possessed to the Stern family – in fact, that knowledge did not become known until many years after the painting left the Met's possession. The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for removal from collection – namely, it was documented that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the inventory. Although The Met maintains its stance that this piece entered the inventory and was deaccessioned lawfully and well within all rules and regulations, the museum welcomes and will consider any new information that comes to light. BEG's Response A lawyer representing the Goulandris Foundation commented: The institution is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The effort to sue and smear the organization and the defendants in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, twice. We are certain it will be once more.