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The heirs of a Jewish couple have filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Van Gogh art piece was looted by the Third Reich.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern purchased the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in the year 1935. Just one year later, they were forced to flee their dwelling in Munich, Germany prior to World War II.

The complaint contends that the museum, which obtained the masterpiece in 1956 for $125,000, should have known it was probably looted property. The descendants are now requesting the restitution of the canvas along with financial restitution.

In the decades since WWII, this plundered piece has been often and discreetly exchanged, purchased and sold in and through the city of New York, states the court document.

Forced Emigration

The Sterns escaped from their Munich home to the United States in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. However, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime designated the artwork as German cultural property and forbade the family from bringing it with them. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a representative appointed by the Nazis auctioned the painting on the couple's behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the auction were deposited in a blocked account, which the regime later confiscated.

Post-War History

Around 1948, or soon after, the painting entered New York and was bought by Vincent Astor, among the richest individuals in the US. Eventually, it was sold through a gallery to the museum, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman the magnate and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a museum in Athens where the painting is currently shown.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a surviving nephew of the magnate are named as defendants. The filing alleges that the defendants and its related entities have concealed and disguised the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the BEG came into ownership of the artwork; the family's possession of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the truth that the Third Reich confiscated the artwork from the heirs, pressured the couple into parting with it via a regime representative, and seized the money of the transaction.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants initiated a similar complaint in California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in May 2025.

The Met's Position

The complaint argues that the institution's buying of the artwork was approved by a curator, the museum's curator of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the artwork had likely been looted by Nazis.

The Met issued a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to handle Nazi-era claims.

A spokesperson stated: Not once during the museum's possession of the artwork was there any evidence that it had once belonged to the heirs – in fact, that information did not become accessible until many years after the artwork left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the Met's guidelines for disposal – in particular, it was documented that the piece was judged to be of inferior standard than other pieces of the similar kind in the inventory. Even though the institution upholds its view that this artwork entered the inventory and was sold properly and well within all rules and regulations, the Met welcomes and will consider any new information that is discovered.

BEG's Response

William Charron representing BEG said: BEG is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The effort to sue and smear the Foundation and the family in the America upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was previously dismissed, twice. We are convinced it will be again.