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The descendants of a Jewish spouses have brought a case against The Met, claiming that a Van Gogh art piece was stolen by the Third Reich.

Historical Background

According to the legal filing, the Stern couple purchased the painting, titled Gathering Olives, in 1935. The following year, they were obliged to escape their residence in the German city of Munich just before the Second World War.

The complaint states that the museum, which purchased the masterpiece in 1956 for a significant sum, should have known it was almost certainly stolen property. The descendants are now seeking the restitution of the artwork along with compensation.

Since the end of WWII, this stolen artwork has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, claims the legal filing.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from the city of Munich to California in 1936 with their six children due to persecution by the Nazis. However, they were unable to bring the painting, which was created by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Prior to their departure, the Nazi government declared the masterpiece as property of the state and banned the family from exporting it. Once approved from a Third Reich agent, a representative appointed by the regime sold the piece on the family's behalf. Yet, the money from the sale were held in a restricted account, which the regime later took.

Subsequent Ownership

By 1948, or not long after, the painting was brought to NYC and was acquired by a wealthy American, a member of the Astor family. Eventually, it was sold through a art dealer to the institution, which then sold it to wealthy Greek businessman the magnate and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise set up the Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which operates a museum in Athens where the artwork is currently on display.

Legal Arguments

BEG and a family member of Basil Goulandris are listed as respondents. The legal action alleges that the Goulandris family and its associated organizations have covered up the masterpiece's history and current place from the heirs.

To this day, the foundation continue to obscure the manner and time the BEG came into possession of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the artwork from the mid-1930s; and the facts that the Third Reich confiscated the artwork from the Stern family, pressured the family into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the funds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The Stern heirs filed a related lawsuit in the state of California in recently, but it was rejected in the following years. An legal challenge was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The complaint states that the Met's purchase of the piece was approved by Theodore Rousseau Jr, the institution's specialist of European art 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 artwork had likely been stolen by Nazis.

The institution responded that it prioritizes its ongoing pledge to address Nazi-era claims.

An official stated: Not once during The Met's ownership of the painting was there any record that it had once belonged to the heirs – indeed, that data did not become accessible until several decades after the masterpiece left the Museum's collection.

The museum's disposal of the artwork met the institution's rigorous standards for deaccessioning – specifically, it was noted that the artwork was deemed to be of lesser quality than additional artworks of the same type in the holdings. Although the institution respectfully stands by its position that this work entered the holdings and was deaccessioned properly and well within all rules and regulations, the Met is open to and will review any new information that is discovered.

BEG's Response

A lawyer on behalf of the foundation commented: The institution is a esteemed foundation in Athens. The action to sue and smear the Foundation and the defendants in the US upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, twice. We are confident it will be a third time.