🔗 Share this article

The heirs of a Jewish spouses have filed a lawsuit against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was stolen by the Nazis.

Historical Background

According to the court documents, the Stern couple bought the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their home in Munich just before the Second World War.

The complaint states that the museum, which acquired the painting in the mid-1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, ought to have been aware it was probably stolen property. The family are now requesting the return of the painting along with financial restitution.

Following WWII, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through New York, states the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

The Sterns departed from their Munich home to California in 1936 with their large family due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in the late 19th century.

Before they left, the Nazi government designated the artwork as a German cultural asset and prohibited the couple from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a trustee appointed by the Nazis sold the painting on the Sterns' behalf. Yet, the funds from the sale were placed in a blocked account, which the Nazis later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or not long after, the canvas was brought to NYC and was acquired by a wealthy American, a member of the Astor family. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair founded the BEG in 1979, which operates a institution in the Greek capital where the artwork is currently on display.

Court Allegations

BEG and a living relative of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The lawsuit claims that the defendants and its affiliates have covered up the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the family.

To this day, the defendants continue to conceal how and when the BEG came into ownership of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the truth that the regime confiscated the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the couple into selling it via a regime representative, and confiscated the money of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a similar complaint in CA in 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An appeal was also rejected in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

The complaint argues that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was approved by the museum's expert, the museum's curator of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert must have known that the Painting had almost certainly been seized by Nazis.

The Met issued a statement that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to resolve issues related to WWII.

A representative stated: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any record that it had once belonged to the Stern family – actually, that knowledge did not become accessible until many years after the painting left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – specifically, it was documented that the work was deemed to be of lower caliber than other works of the comparable nature in the collection. Although the institution respectfully stands by its view that this artwork entered the collection and was deaccessioned properly and well within all standards and procedures, the institution welcomes and will consider any additional details that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel acting for BEG stated: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The action to take legal action against the institution and the Goulandris family in the United States upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, on two occasions. We are confident it will be a third time.