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The descendants of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against New York's Metropolitan Museum, asserting that a the Dutch artist oil painting was seized by Nazi forces.

Case History

As stated in the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the artwork, titled Gathering Olives, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their residence in Munich, Germany prior to World War II.

The legal action contends that the museum, which obtained the masterpiece in 1956 for a significant sum, ought to have been aware it was likely confiscated property. The family are now requesting the restitution of the artwork along with damages.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been frequently and covertly traded, bought and sold in and through NYC, states the legal filing.

Forced Emigration

Hedwig and Frederick Stern fled from the city of Munich to California in 1936 with their six children due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime declared the artwork as German cultural property and banned the couple from bringing it with them. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a agent designated by the Nazis sold the piece on the family's behalf. However, the proceeds from the transaction were held in a blocked account, which the regime later seized.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the painting entered New York and was bought by a wealthy American, among the richest individuals in the US. Subsequently, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then sold it to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his wife, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a museum in the Greek capital where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

The foundation and a family member of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have covered up the masterpiece's history and location from the heirs.

Currently, the defendants continue to obscure the circumstances the institution came into possession of the piece; the couple's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the reality that the regime stole the canvas from the family, forced the Sterns into disposing of it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the funds of the sale.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family submitted a comparable case in the state of California in the year 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An appeal was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The legal action argues that the institution's buying of the piece was approved by the museum's expert, the Met's authority of European paintings and one of the world's foremost experts on Nazi art looting. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had almost certainly been seized by the Nazis.

The Met said in a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to handle claims from the Nazi period.

A spokesperson commented: Never during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any record that it had previously been owned to the heirs – in fact, that knowledge did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The institution's deaccessioning of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – in particular, it was recorded that the work was judged to be of lower caliber than other pieces of the same type in the collection. While the institution respectfully stands by its position that this work entered the collection and was sold lawfully and well within all guidelines and policies, the Met invites and will examine any further evidence that emerges.

Goulandris Statement

William Charron on behalf of BEG said: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Athens. The action to litigate and defame the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the America upon inaccurate and partial claims was earlier rejected, on two occasions. We are convinced it will be a third time.