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The family members of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was seized by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

Per the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern bought the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in Munich on the eve of WWII.

The complaint contends that the museum, which obtained the painting in the mid-1950s for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was almost certainly stolen property. The family are now seeking the repatriation of the painting along with compensation.

Since the end of WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, alleges the court document.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from the city of Munich to California in the late 1930s with their large family due to persecution by the Nazis. However, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was produced by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities classified the artwork as German cultural property and prohibited the couple from exporting it. Once approved from a Nazi official, a trustee appointed by the regime disposed of the piece on the couple's behalf. But, the proceeds from the sale were placed in a blocked account, which the authorities later took.

Later Transactions

In 1948, or soon after, the painting entered New York and was acquired by a wealthy American, among the richest individuals in the US. Later, it was exchanged through a art dealer to the Met, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a gallery in Athens, Greece where the artwork is currently exhibited.

Court Allegations

The institution and a living relative of the magnate are named as defendants. The legal action claims that the family and its associated organizations have covered up the masterpiece's history and location from the family.

Even now, the foundation continue to conceal the circumstances the institution came into control of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the reality that the regime confiscated the artwork from the heirs, coerced the couple into selling it via a trustee, and seized the money of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The descendants filed a comparable case in CA in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in May 2025.

Institution's Statement

The complaint states that the institution's buying of the painting was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the museum's curator of European art and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. Rousseau and the Met were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had probably been looted by Nazis.

The institution issued a statement that it is committed to its historical dedication to address issues related to WWII.

A representative remarked: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the family – indeed, that knowledge did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the Met's guidelines for disposal – specifically, it was documented that the artwork was considered to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the same type in the inventory. While the museum upholds its stance that this artwork entered the collection and was sold lawfully and well within all rules and regulations, the Met welcomes and will consider any new information that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

Legal counsel acting for the foundation said: The institution is a renowned institution in Greece. The attempt to sue and smear the organization and the defendants in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, on two occasions. We are certain it will be a third time.