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The heirs of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was stolen by Nazi forces.

Historical Background

According to the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in 1935. Just one year later, they were obliged to escape their residence in Munich, Germany on the eve of the Second World War.

The legal action argues that the museum, which obtained the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, should have known it was almost certainly looted property. The heirs are now seeking the return of the artwork along with damages.

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

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from the city of Munich to the United States in the late 1930s with their large family due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the painting, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in the late 19th century.

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government declared the painting as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a trustee assigned by the regime auctioned the piece on the Sterns' behalf. However, the funds from the sale were deposited in a frozen account, which the authorities later confiscated.

Post-War History

By 1948, or shortly after, the canvas entered the United States and was bought by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was exchanged through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then transferred it to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his partner, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Greek couple set up the BEG in the late 1970s, which runs a museum in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently shown.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a family member of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The filing alleges that the Goulandris family and its related entities have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

To this day, the Goulandris Defendants continue to hide the circumstances the foundation came into possession of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the reality that the Third Reich confiscated the artwork from the heirs, coerced the couple into selling it via a trustee, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family submitted a related lawsuit in California in the year 2022, but it was rejected in the following years. An appeal was also dismissed in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint contends that the Met's purchase of the artwork was sanctioned by a curator, the Met's authority of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had likely been seized by Nazis.

The museum issued a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to resolve Nazi-era claims.

A spokesperson commented: Not once during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any evidence that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – in fact, that information did not become known until many years after the artwork left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the Met's guidelines for removal from collection – specifically, it was recorded that the work was judged to be of lower caliber than other works of the comparable nature in the collection. Although the museum maintains its position that this artwork entered the collection and was deaccessioned properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met invites and will examine any additional details that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of the foundation commented: The institution is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The effort to take legal action against the organization and the family in the US upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be a third time.