New York's Met Museum Faces Legal Action Over Allegedly Nazi-Stolen Van Gogh Masterpiece

The heirs of a Jewish pair have brought a case against The Met, claiming that a Van Gogh canvas was stolen by the Third Reich.

Case History

According to the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Harvest, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their home in the German city of Munich prior to the Second World War.

The suit contends that the institution, which obtained the artwork in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was almost certainly looted property. The heirs are now demanding the return of the painting along with financial restitution.

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

Family's Flight

The Sterns fled from Munich to America in 1936 with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. However, they were barred from transporting the artwork, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government declared the masterpiece as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Third Reich agent, a agent assigned by the regime sold the painting on the couple's behalf. But, the funds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or soon after, the canvas was brought to New York and was acquired by a prominent figure, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was transferred through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his partner, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair founded the BEG in 1979, which runs a institution in Athens where the painting is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action states that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the heirs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal how and when the foundation came into control of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the regime stole the artwork from the heirs, pressured the couple into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the funds of the sale.

Previous Legal Action

The Stern heirs initiated a related lawsuit in California in 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An appeal was also dismissed in recently.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit contends that the museum's acquisition of the piece was authorized by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European art and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the Painting had likely been looted by Nazis.

The museum responded that it is committed to its historical dedication to handle Nazi-era claims.

An official remarked: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the Stern family – in fact, that data did not become known until a long time after the artwork left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – in particular, it was recorded that the work was judged to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the same type in the holdings. While the institution upholds its position that this artwork entered the holdings and was removed lawfully and well within all rules and regulations, the Met welcomes and will consider any additional details that comes to light.

Goulandris Statement

A lawyer acting for the Goulandris Foundation commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The attempt to litigate and defame the institution and the Goulandris family in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, twice. We are certain it will be a third time.