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The family members of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Met, alleging that a Vincent van Gogh oil painting was stolen by Nazi forces.

Origins of the Dispute

Per the lawsuit, the Stern couple acquired the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in 1935. Just one year later, they were compelled to leave their home in the German city of Munich on the eve of WWII.

The suit contends that the institution, which acquired the masterpiece in 1956 for a significant sum, ought to have been aware it was likely looted property. The descendants are now seeking the restitution of the artwork along with financial restitution.

Following WWII, this plundered piece has been often and discreetly exchanged, bought and sold in and through NYC, states the court document.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from Munich to America in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, the Nazi government designated the painting as German cultural property and forbade the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a agent appointed by the regime auctioned the piece on the Sterns' behalf. However, the funds from the sale were placed in a restricted account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the painting arrived in NYC and was acquired by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Later, it was transferred through a art dealer to the museum, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair founded the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in the Greek capital where the painting is currently on display.

Court Allegations

The foundation and a living relative of the magnate are identified in the suit. The lawsuit claims that the defendants and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the painting's ownership and location from the family.

Currently, the foundation continue to conceal the circumstances the BEG came into ownership of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the facts that the Nazis looted the Painting from the Stern family, coerced the family into selling it via a regime representative, and confiscated the funds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The family initiated a similar complaint in the state of California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An appeal was also denied in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

The lawsuit contends that the museum's acquisition of the painting was approved by a curator, the museum's curator of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert must have known that the masterpiece had almost certainly been stolen by Nazis.

The Met issued a statement that it is committed to its ongoing pledge to handle Nazi-era claims.

An official commented: Not once during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any documentation that it had earlier been possessed to the heirs – in fact, that data did not become accessible until many years after the artwork left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for removal from collection – in particular, it was recorded that the artwork was judged to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the comparable nature in the holdings. Although the institution upholds its view that this piece entered the inventory and was removed properly and well within all rules and regulations, the Met welcomes and will consider any additional details that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel representing BEG commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a esteemed foundation in Greece. The action to litigate and defame the institution and the Goulandris family in the United States upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are convinced it will be again.