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The descendants of a Jewish couple have initiated legal proceedings against The Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that a Vincent van Gogh canvas was seized by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

Per the legal filing, Frederick and Hedwig Stern bought the artwork, titled Olive Picking, in the mid-1930s. A year after, they were obliged to escape their dwelling in Munich just before the Second World War.

The suit argues that the museum, which obtained the painting in the 1950s for a significant sum, should have known it was likely stolen property. The family are now requesting the repatriation of the artwork along with damages.

Following WWII, this stolen artwork has been often and discreetly exchanged, purchased and sold in and through the city of New York, states the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

The Stern family escaped from the city of Munich to America in 1936 with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the artwork, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime designated the painting as property of the state and prohibited the family from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a agent assigned by the regime auctioned the painting on the Sterns' behalf. However, the proceeds from the auction were held in a blocked account, which the Nazis later seized.

Later Transactions

In 1948, or not long after, the artwork was brought to NYC and was acquired by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Subsequently, it was sold through a gallery to the Met, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his spouse, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

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

Legal Arguments

BEG and a living relative of Goulandris are identified in the suit. The lawsuit claims that the family and its associated organizations have concealed and disguised the artwork's provenance and current place from the plaintiffs.

To this day, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure how and when the foundation came into possession of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the masterpiece from 1935 to 1938; and the facts that the regime stole the Painting from the heirs, pressured the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and took the money of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The family filed a related lawsuit in California in the year 2022, but it was rejected in the following years. An appeal was also rejected in recently.

Institution's Statement

The lawsuit argues that the institution's buying of the piece was approved by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of European paintings and a leading authority on art theft during the Nazi era. The curator and the museum were aware or ought to have been aware that the masterpiece had almost certainly been looted by the regime.

The Met issued a statement that it prioritizes its historical dedication to handle issues related to WWII.

An official stated: At no time during the museum's possession of the piece was there any record that it had earlier been possessed to the Stern family – indeed, that information did not become known until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of the Van Gogh met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – specifically, it was documented that the work was considered to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the similar kind in the inventory. Even though the museum maintains its position that this piece entered the collection and was removed legally and well within all standards and procedures, the institution invites and will examine any new information that is discovered.

BEG's Response

A lawyer acting for BEG said: BEG is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The action to take legal action against the organization and the defendants in the America upon inaccurate and partial claims was already thrown out, multiple times. We are convinced it will be again.