🔗 Share this article

The family members of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Met, alleging that a Van Gogh art piece was seized by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

Per the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the artwork, titled Olive Picking, in the year 1935. A year after, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in the German city of Munich prior to WWII.

The complaint argues that the Met, which purchased the masterpiece in the 1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, should have known it was likely looted property. The family are now requesting the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, alleges the lawsuit.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from the city of Munich to America in 1936 with their offspring due to persecution by the Nazis. Yet, they were prevented from taking the artwork, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the Nazi government designated the masterpiece as German cultural property and prohibited the couple from taking it abroad. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a trustee designated by the regime disposed of the artwork on the family's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the transaction were deposited in a restricted account, which the regime later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or soon after, the artwork entered the United States and was acquired by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was sold through a art dealer to the museum, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a gallery in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently shown.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a living relative of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The filing states that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the masterpiece's history and location from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the foundation continue to hide how and when the institution came into ownership of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the Painting from the mid-1930s; and the reality that the regime confiscated the canvas from the heirs, coerced the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and seized the money of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants submitted a similar complaint in California in recently, but it was dismissed in 2024. An further action was also rejected in recently.

Institution's Statement

The lawsuit states that the Met's purchase of the painting was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the Painting had probably been looted by the regime.

The institution said in a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to address Nazi-era claims.

A representative commented: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the heirs – in fact, that information did not become available until several decades after the painting left the Museum's collection.

The institution's deaccessioning of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – namely, it was recorded that the artwork was deemed to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. Although The Met maintains its stance that this piece entered the holdings and was deaccessioned legally and well within all standards and procedures, the institution is open to and will review any new information that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel on behalf of the foundation said: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The action to sue and smear the institution and the defendants in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was previously dismissed, twice. We are certain it will be again.