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

The heirs of a Jewish pair have initiated legal proceedings against New York's Metropolitan Museum, asserting that a the Dutch artist oil painting was looted by the Nazis.

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the lawsuit, the Stern couple purchased the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. The following year, they were forced to flee their residence in Munich, Germany on the eve of World War II.

The legal action states that the institution, which acquired the artwork in the mid-1950s for $125,000, should have known it was probably confiscated property. The family are now seeking the repatriation of the painting along with compensation.

Since the end of World War II, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, bought and sold in and through the city of New York, alleges the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

The Stern family escaped from the city of Munich to America in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the celebrated artist in the late 19th century.

Before they left, Nazi authorities designated the painting as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from bringing it with them. Following authorization from a Nazi official, a agent assigned by the authorities disposed of the painting on the family's behalf. Yet, the money from the sale were held in a frozen account, which the regime later confiscated.

Later Transactions

Around 1948, or not long after, the artwork entered NYC and was purchased by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Later, it was transferred through a gallery to the institution, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman Basil Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

Basil and Elise set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a gallery in the Greek capital where the painting is currently shown.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a surviving nephew of the magnate are identified in the suit. The filing alleges that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and current place from the heirs.

To this day, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the Painting; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from the mid-1930s; and the reality that the regime confiscated the canvas from the heirs, pressured the couple into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the proceeds of the sale.

Previous Legal Action

The descendants initiated a related lawsuit in CA in recently, but it was dismissed in 2024. An legal challenge was also rejected in May 2025.

The Met's Position

The lawsuit states that the museum's acquisition of the artwork was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European art and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum must have known that the artwork had likely been seized by the Nazis.

The Met responded that it takes seriously its longstanding commitment to resolve Nazi-era claims.

A spokesperson remarked: At no time during the institution's custody of the piece was there any record that it had once belonged to the family – in fact, that knowledge did not become accessible until several decades after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The Met's sale of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – in particular, it was recorded that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the similar kind in the collection. While the institution upholds its view that this work entered the inventory and was sold legally and well within all rules and regulations, the institution is open to and will review any additional details that is discovered.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel on behalf of the Goulandris Foundation stated: The institution is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The effort to sue and smear the organization and the family in the United States upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are convinced it will be a third time.