New York's Met Museum Responds to Lawsuit Over Supposedly Nazi-Stolen Van Gogh Painting

The heirs of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh art piece was seized by the Nazis.

Case History

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were compelled to leave their dwelling in Munich, Germany on the eve of World War II.

The legal action states that the Met, which obtained the artwork in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was likely looted property. The heirs are now seeking the repatriation of the canvas along with financial restitution.

In the decades since World War II, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through New York, states the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from Munich to the United States in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime classified the artwork as property of the state and forbade the Sterns from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a representative designated by the authorities auctioned the painting on the family's behalf. However, the funds from the sale were held in a restricted account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or shortly after, the painting entered NYC and was bought by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the museum, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

The Greek couple founded the BEG in 1979, which manages a gallery in Athens where the painting is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a family member of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants and its related entities have concealed and disguised the artwork's provenance and current place from the heirs.

Currently, the defendants continue to hide how and when the BEG came into possession of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the masterpiece from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the regime confiscated the canvas from the Stern family, coerced the Sterns into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and seized the funds of the deal.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants filed a related lawsuit in CA in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An further action was also dismissed in recently.

Institution's Statement

The lawsuit argues that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had probably been seized by Nazis.

The museum said in a statement that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to handle claims from the Nazi period.

A representative stated: At no time during the institution's custody of the artwork was there any record that it had earlier been possessed to the family – in fact, that data did not become available until many years after the artwork left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – specifically, it was documented that the piece was deemed to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the comparable nature in the holdings. Even though the museum maintains its view that this piece entered the collection and was removed properly and well within all rules and regulations, the institution invites and will examine any further evidence that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel acting for the foundation said: The institution is a esteemed foundation in the Greek capital. The attempt to litigate and defame the Foundation and the family in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, twice. We are convinced it will be once more.