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The family members of a Jewish pair have initiated legal proceedings against The Met, alleging that a the Dutch artist oil painting was stolen by the Nazis.

Origins of the Dispute

According to the lawsuit, Hedwig and Frederick Stern acquired the piece, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were obliged to escape their residence in Munich prior to WWII.

The complaint states that the Met, which purchased the masterpiece in 1956 for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, ought to have been aware it was likely confiscated property. The descendants are now seeking the repatriation of the canvas along with compensation.

In the decades since WWII, this plundered piece has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, acquired and disposed of in and through the city of New York, claims the court document.

Family's Flight

The Sterns escaped from their Munich home to California in 1936 with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. Nevertheless, they were unable to bring the painting, which was produced by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before they left, the regime classified the masterpiece as German cultural property and prohibited the couple from exporting it. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a representative appointed by the Nazis disposed of the piece on the family's behalf. Yet, the money from the sale were deposited in a restricted account, which the Nazis later took.

Post-War History

By 1948, or not long after, the canvas arrived in the United States and was bought by Vincent Astor, one of America's wealthiest people. Later, it was sold through a art dealer to the museum, which then passed it on to Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris and his partner, Mrs. Goulandris, in 1972.

The Goulandris pair founded the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in Athens, Greece where the painting is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

BEG and a family member of Goulandris are named as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants and its related entities have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and current place from the heirs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to obscure the manner and time the BEG came into possession of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the masterpiece from the mid-1930s; and the reality that the Third Reich looted the Painting from the family, forced the family into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the proceeds of the sale.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs filed a related lawsuit in California in 2022, but it was rejected in 2024. An further action was also rejected in May 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit states that the institution's buying of the piece was authorized by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the museum's curator of Old Masters and a leading authority on Nazi art looting. The institution and its expert must have known that the masterpiece had probably been seized by Nazis.

The Met said in a statement that it takes seriously its ongoing pledge to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

A representative remarked: Never during the institution's custody of the piece was there any record that it had once belonged to the family – in fact, that information did not become available until a long time after the artwork left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for deaccessioning – namely, it was recorded that the work was judged to be of lesser quality than other works of the similar kind in the collection. Even though the institution maintains its stance that this artwork entered the holdings and was deaccessioned properly and well within all guidelines and policies, the institution is open to and will review any further evidence that comes to light.

BEG's Response

Legal counsel on behalf of the foundation said: BEG is a esteemed foundation in the Greek capital. The attempt to sue and smear the organization and the family in the US upon deceptive and insufficient accusations was earlier rejected, multiple times. We are confident it will be a third time.