🔗 Share this article Metropolitan Museum Faces Legal Challenge Over Reportedly Nazi-Stolen Van Gogh Masterpiece The heirs of a Jewish spouses have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, alleging that a the Dutch artist oil painting was stolen by the Third Reich. Case History According to the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the artwork, titled Olive Picking, in the year 1935. A year after, they were forced to flee their home in Munich prior to WWII. The legal action argues that the Met, which purchased the artwork in the mid-1950s for $125,000, ought to have been aware it was likely confiscated property. The family are now requesting the repatriation of the painting along with financial restitution. Following WWII, this Nazi-looted painting has been often and discreetly exchanged, bought and sold in and through NYC, claims the court document. The Sterns' Escape The Sterns fled from the city of Munich to the United States in the late 1930s with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. However, they were prevented from taking the Van Gogh piece, which was created by the Dutch post-impressionist in the late 19th century. Prior to their departure, the Nazi government designated the masterpiece as property of the state and prohibited the family from exporting it. Once approved from a regime representative, a agent designated by the regime sold the painting on the Sterns' behalf. Yet, the proceeds from the transaction were deposited in a frozen account, which the authorities later took. Subsequent Ownership By 1948, or shortly after, the artwork was brought to New York and was acquired by a prominent figure, a member of the Astor family. Eventually, it was transferred through a gallery to the institution, which then transferred it to prominent shipowner the magnate and his spouse, Elise, in the early 1970s. The Greek couple set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a museum in Athens where the artwork is currently exhibited. Legal Arguments The institution and a surviving nephew of the magnate are listed as respondents. The legal action states that the defendants and its related entities have concealed and disguised the artwork's provenance and current place from the plaintiffs. Currently, the defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the artwork from several years; and the truth that the regime confiscated the canvas from the Stern family, coerced the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and seized the money of the transaction. Prior Cases The Stern heirs filed a similar complaint in California in the year 2022, but it was dismissed in the following years. An legal challenge was also dismissed in recently. Institution's Statement The legal action contends that the museum's acquisition of the piece was approved by a curator, the institution's specialist of Old Masters and one of the world's foremost experts on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the Painting had almost certainly been looted by the Nazis. The museum said in a statement that it is committed to its historical dedication to address issues related to WWII. A representative stated: Never during the museum's possession of the painting was there any record that it had earlier been possessed to the heirs – indeed, that data did not become known until many years after the artwork left the institution's holdings. The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for disposal – in particular, it was noted that the piece was deemed to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the comparable nature in the collection. Although the institution respectfully stands by its view that this artwork entered the collection and was sold properly and well within all standards and procedures, the institution invites and will examine any new information that emerges. Goulandris Statement Legal counsel acting for BEG commented: The institution is a highly prestigious organization in the Greek capital. The action to sue and smear the Foundation and the defendants in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, on two occasions. We are certain it will be again.