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The family members of a Jewish pair have initiated legal proceedings against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, claiming that a Van Gogh canvas was looted by the Nazis.

Historical Background

Per the legal filing, the Stern couple acquired the piece, titled Olive Picking, in the year 1935. The following year, they were forced to flee their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of the Second World War.

The complaint contends that the Met, which obtained the artwork in the 1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, must have realized it was likely stolen property. The family are now seeking the restitution of the painting along with damages.

In the decades since World War II, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through New York, alleges the legal filing.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to California in 1936 with their offspring due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Yet, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in the late 19th century.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities declared the artwork as German cultural property and prohibited the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a representative assigned by the regime sold the painting on the couple's behalf. Yet, the money from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Post-War History

Around 1948, or soon after, the canvas entered the United States and was purchased by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Subsequently, it was sold through a art dealer to the Met, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise established the Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a gallery in Athens where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a living relative of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The filing claims that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and location from the family.

Even now, the foundation continue to hide the manner and time the institution came into control of the piece; the couple's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Nazis confiscated the artwork from the heirs, forced the couple into disposing of it via a trustee, and confiscated the proceeds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs filed a related lawsuit in the state of California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An appeal was also dismissed in recently.

The Met's Position

The legal action states that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had likely been looted by Nazis.

The museum issued a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to handle Nazi-era claims.

A spokesperson commented: At no time during the museum's possession of the piece was there any evidence that it had earlier been possessed to the family – indeed, that data did not become accessible until a long time after the artwork left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – namely, it was recorded that the piece was considered to be of inferior standard than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the holdings. Even though The Met maintains its view that this artwork entered the holdings and was deaccessioned legally and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution invites and will examine any new information that emerges.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel acting for BEG commented: BEG is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The effort to litigate and defame the Foundation and the defendants in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are certain it will be again.