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The heirs of a Jewish pair have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, claiming that a Van Gogh canvas was stolen by Nazi forces.

Historical Background

According to the court documents, the Stern couple bought the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their residence in Munich prior to World War II.

The legal action contends that the museum, which obtained the painting in the 1950s for $125,000, should have known it was probably confiscated property. The heirs are now seeking the restitution of the canvas along with damages.

In the decades since World War II, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through the city of New York, alleges the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

The Stern family departed from the city of Munich to California in 1936 with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before they left, Nazi authorities declared the artwork as German cultural property and prohibited the couple from exporting it. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a trustee appointed by the regime auctioned the painting on the family's behalf. However, the proceeds from the transaction were held in a frozen account, which the regime later took.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or soon after, the artwork arrived in New York and was purchased by a wealthy American, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was transferred through a gallery to the Met, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Basil Goulandris and his wife, Elise Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Greek couple founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in Athens where the artwork is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The foundation and a living relative of Basil Goulandris are named as defendants. The filing alleges that the Goulandris family and its affiliates have covered up the painting's ownership and location from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the foundation continue to obscure the manner and time the foundation came into possession of the piece; the family's possession of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the regime looted the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the couple into parting with it via a trustee, and took the proceeds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs initiated a comparable case in California in 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An legal challenge was also rejected in spring 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit states that the Met's purchase of the piece was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert must have known that the artwork had probably been stolen by the regime.

The institution said in a statement that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to address issues related to WWII.

A representative remarked: At no time during the institution's custody of the piece was there any record that it had once belonged to the family – indeed, that knowledge did not become known until many years after the artwork left the institution's holdings.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for disposal – specifically, it was recorded that the piece was considered to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the same type in the inventory. Even though the institution upholds its view that this work entered the collection and was removed legally and well within all standards and procedures, the museum is open to and will review any further evidence that is discovered.

BEG's Response

William Charron on behalf of BEG stated: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in the Greek capital. The action to take legal action against the organization and the defendants in the United States upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.