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The descendants of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, alleging that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was seized by Nazi forces.

Case History

Per the court documents, the Stern couple bought the piece, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were compelled to leave their residence in the German city of Munich just before World War II.

The suit argues that the Met, which acquired the painting in the 1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was probably stolen property. The descendants are now demanding the restitution of the artwork along with compensation.

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

Family's Flight

The Stern family departed from Munich to the United States in the late 1930s with their large family due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were prevented from taking the painting, which was produced by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime designated the artwork as German cultural property and forbade the couple from taking it abroad. Once approved from a regime representative, a trustee designated by the Nazis sold the artwork on the family's behalf. But, the funds from the auction were held in a restricted account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or soon after, the painting entered New York and was bought by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was transferred through a gallery to the institution, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his partner, Mrs. Goulandris, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair set up the BEG in the late 1970s, which operates a institution in Athens where the painting is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a surviving nephew of Basil Goulandris are identified in the suit. The filing states that the defendants and its related entities have covered up the artwork's provenance and current place from the family.

Currently, the defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the Painting; the family's possession of the artwork from several years; and the reality that the Nazis looted the Painting from the Stern family, forced the Sterns into selling it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the funds of the transaction.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs filed a similar complaint in California in the year 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint states that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert were aware or ought to have been aware that the masterpiece had almost certainly been stolen by the regime.

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

A spokesperson commented: Not once during the institution's custody of the piece was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the heirs – actually, that data did not become accessible until a long time after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – namely, it was documented that the artwork was deemed to be of inferior standard than other works of the similar kind in the holdings. Although the institution upholds its view that this work entered the inventory and was deaccessioned lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the museum welcomes and will consider any additional details that is discovered.

Goulandris Statement

A lawyer on behalf of BEG said: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Athens. The attempt to take legal action against the institution and the Goulandris family in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.