New York's Met Museum Responds to Legal Action Over Reportedly Nazi-Looted Van Gogh Artwork

The family members of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against The Met, claiming that a Vincent van Gogh oil painting was looted by Nazi forces.

Case History

As stated in the lawsuit, the Stern couple bought the piece, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their home in the German city of Munich prior to the Second World War.

The complaint contends that the Met, which obtained the masterpiece in the 1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was probably stolen property. The family are now demanding the return of the artwork along with financial restitution.

Following World War II, this plundered piece has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, alleges the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

The Stern family escaped from Munich to California in the late 1930s with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Yet, they were prevented from taking the painting, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the Nazi government declared the painting as a German cultural asset and forbade the Sterns from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a agent appointed by the authorities auctioned the painting on the couple's behalf. But, the proceeds from the transaction were deposited in a frozen account, which the regime later confiscated.

Post-War History

Around 1948, or soon after, the canvas arrived in the United States and was acquired by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Later, it was transferred through a gallery to the museum, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner the magnate and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

The Greek couple founded the BEG in 1979, which operates a gallery in Athens where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a family member of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action alleges that the Goulandris family and its related entities have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the foundation continue to hide the circumstances the institution came into ownership of the artwork; the family's possession of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the truth that the Nazis confiscated the canvas from the heirs, forced the family into selling it via a regime representative, and seized the funds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a related lawsuit in CA in recently, but it was thrown out in 2024. An further action was also denied in spring 2025.

Institution's Statement

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

The institution responded that it is committed to its ongoing pledge to address claims from the Nazi period.

A representative remarked: Never during The Met's ownership of the artwork was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – indeed, that data did not become known until several decades after the masterpiece left the Met's possession.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for disposal – in particular, it was recorded that the artwork was considered to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the similar kind in the holdings. Even though the institution respectfully stands by its position that this artwork entered the collection and was deaccessioned legally and well within all rules and regulations, the Met invites and will examine any additional details that is discovered.

Foundation's Defense

Legal counsel representing the foundation said: The institution is a highly prestigious organization in the Greek capital. The attempt to take legal action against the organization and the defendants in the US upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, twice. We are confident it will be once more.