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The descendants of a Jewish couple have brought a case against The Met, alleging that a Van Gogh oil painting was stolen by Nazi forces.

Historical Background

According to the legal filing, the Stern couple acquired the painting, titled Olive Harvest, in 1935. The following year, they were compelled to leave their residence in the German city of Munich on the eve of WWII.

The complaint states that the Met, which obtained the masterpiece in the 1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was probably looted property. The descendants are now requesting the return of the canvas along with financial restitution.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through NYC, states the lawsuit.

The Sterns' Escape

The Stern family fled from their Munich home to America in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. However, they were unable to bring the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the celebrated artist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities classified the artwork as German cultural property and banned the couple from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a representative designated by the authorities sold the artwork on the couple's behalf. But, the money from the transaction were held in a blocked account, which the Nazis later took.

Subsequent Ownership

In 1948, or soon after, the canvas was brought to New York and was acquired by a wealthy American, among the richest individuals in the US. Later, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the Met, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his partner, Elise Goulandris, in 1972.

Basil and Elise founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a institution in Athens where the artwork is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a family member of the magnate are named as defendants. The lawsuit claims that the family and its affiliates have concealed and disguised the painting's ownership and whereabouts from the family.

Even now, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the institution came into control of the Painting; the family's possession of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the truth that the regime looted the artwork from the family, forced the couple into selling it via a regime representative, and confiscated the proceeds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a related lawsuit in CA in 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An legal challenge was also dismissed in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The complaint argues that the institution's buying of the artwork was sanctioned by the museum's expert, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and a renowned specialist on Nazi-era looted art. Rousseau and the Met were aware or ought to have been aware that the Painting had likely been seized by the regime.

The Met said in a statement that it is committed to its longstanding commitment to handle issues related to WWII.

An official stated: Never during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the Stern family – in fact, that knowledge did not become available until a long time after the painting left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of the artwork met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – specifically, it was noted that the piece was judged to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the same type in the collection. Although the institution maintains its stance that this piece entered the inventory and was deaccessioned lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the institution welcomes and will consider any new information that emerges.

BEG's Response

A lawyer acting for BEG stated: The Goulandris Foundation is a renowned institution in Athens. The action to take legal action against the institution and the family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, twice. We are convinced it will be a third time.