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The heirs of a Jewish pair have initiated legal proceedings against The Met, claiming that a Van Gogh art piece was seized by the Third Reich.

Case History

According to the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the painting, titled Olive Picking, in 1935. Just one year later, they were obliged to escape their residence in Munich, Germany on the eve of World War II.

The complaint states that the museum, which obtained the artwork in 1956 for a significant sum, must have realized it was almost certainly looted property. The family are now seeking the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

Following the war, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, claims the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from their Munich home to the United States in 1936 with their six children due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, Nazi authorities classified the artwork as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a representative assigned by the Nazis auctioned the artwork on the Sterns' behalf. But, the funds from the transaction were deposited in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Post-War History

By 1948, or not long after, the canvas was brought to NYC and was bought by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then passed it on to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his wife, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Greek couple set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a museum in Athens where the painting is currently exhibited.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit claims that the family and its affiliates have covered up the artwork's provenance and current place from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal the circumstances the BEG came into possession of the artwork; the family's possession of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the reality that the Third Reich looted the canvas from the heirs, pressured the family into parting with it via a trustee, and confiscated the proceeds of the deal.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a similar complaint in California in 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An appeal was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The complaint argues that the institution's buying of the artwork was approved by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert must have known that the masterpiece had likely been looted by the Nazis.

The Met said in a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

An official stated: Not once during The Met's ownership of the painting was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the family – indeed, that data did not become accessible until many years after the masterpiece left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the Met's guidelines for removal from collection – in particular, it was noted that the work was deemed to be of inferior standard than other works of the similar kind in the collection. Even though the institution respectfully stands by its stance that this work entered the inventory and was removed properly and well within all standards and procedures, the Met invites and will examine any new information that comes to light.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel on behalf of the Goulandris Foundation commented: BEG is a renowned institution in Greece. The attempt to sue and smear the Foundation and the defendants in the United States upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.