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The family members of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, claiming that a the Dutch artist art piece was stolen by the Third Reich.

Origins of the Dispute

Per the lawsuit, the Stern couple bought the artwork, titled Olive Picking, in the year 1935. A year after, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in Munich prior to the Second World War.

The suit contends that the museum, which acquired the painting in 1956 for $125,000, should have known it was probably looted property. The descendants are now seeking the return of the canvas along with damages.

In the decades since the war, this plundered piece has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, alleges the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

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

Before they left, Nazi authorities designated the masterpiece as German cultural property and banned the family from bringing it with them. Once approved from a Nazi official, a trustee designated by the regime auctioned the artwork on the family's behalf. Yet, the money from the auction were deposited in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Later Transactions

By 1948, or not long after, the artwork arrived in the United States and was purchased by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his wife, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which manages a gallery in Athens where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a surviving nephew of the magnate are identified in the suit. The filing alleges that the Goulandris family and its related entities have hidden and obscured the masterpiece's history and whereabouts from the family.

Currently, the defendants continue to obscure how and when the institution came into possession of the Painting; the family's possession of the Painting from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Nazis looted the Painting from the heirs, forced the Sterns into disposing of it via a regime representative, and took the funds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family submitted a related lawsuit in California in recently, but it was rejected in 2024. An legal challenge was also denied in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit argues that the institution's buying of the painting was authorized by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European art and a leading authority on Nazi-era looted art. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the masterpiece had almost certainly been looted by the regime.

The Met said in a statement that it is committed to its historical dedication to address issues related to WWII.

A representative commented: Not once during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any record that it had earlier been possessed to the family – in fact, that knowledge did not become known until a long time after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of Olive Picking met the Met's guidelines for deaccessioning – in particular, it was noted that the piece was considered to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the similar kind in the holdings. While the institution maintains its stance that this artwork entered the holdings and was sold legally and well within all standards and procedures, the Met is open to and will review any additional details that comes to light.

BEG's Response

A lawyer on behalf of BEG stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Athens. The attempt to take legal action against the Foundation and the defendants in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.