🔗 Share this article New York's Met Museum Faces Legal Challenge Over Supposedly Nazi-Looted Van Gogh Masterpiece The descendants of a Jewish couple have initiated legal proceedings against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was seized by the Third Reich. Origins of the Dispute According to the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their residence in the German city of Munich just before WWII. The legal action argues that the museum, which acquired the masterpiece in the mid-1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, must have realized it was almost certainly stolen property. The descendants are now demanding the return of the painting along with financial restitution. In the decades since WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, states the lawsuit. Forced Emigration The Sterns escaped from Munich to the United States in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889. Prior to their departure, the regime designated the masterpiece as property of the state and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. Once approved from a Nazi official, a representative assigned by the authorities auctioned the painting on the couple's behalf. However, the proceeds from the transaction were held in a blocked account, which the authorities later seized. Post-War History In 1948, or soon after, the artwork was brought to NYC and was purchased by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a gallery to the Met, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his spouse, Elise Goulandris, in 1972. The Greek couple founded the Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which runs a institution in Athens, Greece where the artwork is currently shown. Legal Arguments The foundation and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action states that the defendants and its related entities have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and current place from the family. To this day, the foundation continue to conceal the circumstances the foundation came into possession of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the facts that the regime stole the canvas from the Stern family, coerced the Sterns into selling it via a regime representative, and confiscated the funds of the sale. Prior Cases The Stern heirs submitted a similar complaint in the state of California in 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An further action was also denied in May 2025. The Met's Position The legal action contends that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by a curator, the Met's authority of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the Painting had probably been looted by Nazis. The institution issued a statement that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to handle claims from the Nazi period. A spokesperson commented: At no time during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the Stern family – in fact, that data did not become available until a long time after the painting left the Met's possession. The institution's deaccessioning of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for disposal – in particular, it was noted that the piece was considered to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the same type in the inventory. Although the institution maintains its stance that this piece entered the collection and was deaccessioned legally and well within all rules and regulations, the institution welcomes and will consider any new information that is discovered. Foundation's Defense Legal counsel representing BEG commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The attempt to take legal action against the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be once more.