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

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the piece, titled Olive Harvest, in the mid-1930s. Just one year later, they were compelled to leave their residence in Munich on the eve of WWII.

The complaint contends that the Met, which obtained the artwork in 1956 for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, must have realized it was likely stolen property. The family are now requesting the return of the painting along with damages.

In the decades since the war, this plundered piece has been frequently and covertly traded, acquired and disposed of in and through NYC, claims the legal filing.

The Sterns' Escape

Hedwig and Frederick Stern departed from the city of Munich to America in the late 1930s with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they were barred from transporting the Van Gogh piece, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, Nazi authorities declared the painting as property of the state and banned the couple from bringing it with them. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a representative designated by the authorities auctioned the piece on the family's behalf. But, the funds from the sale were held in a frozen account, which the regime later seized.

Later Transactions

In 1948, or soon after, the canvas arrived in New York 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 transferred it to wealthy Greek businessman Goulandris and his spouse, Elise, in 1972.

The Greek couple set up the BEG in the late 1970s, which operates a institution in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently on display.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a family member of Goulandris are listed as respondents. The legal action states that the family and its related entities have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Currently, the Goulandris Defendants continue to hide the circumstances the BEG came into ownership of the Painting; the couple's ownership of the Painting from several years; and the facts that the regime stole the canvas from the heirs, coerced the family into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and took the proceeds of the deal.

Prior Cases

The family submitted a comparable case in the state of California in recently, but it was rejected in the following years. An further action was also rejected in recently.

The Met's Position

The complaint contends that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by the museum's expert, the museum's curator of European art and a renowned specialist on art theft during the Nazi era. Rousseau and the Met must have known that the masterpiece had probably been seized by Nazis.

The museum issued a statement that it takes seriously its historical dedication to handle claims from the Nazi period.

An official stated: Never during the institution's custody of the piece was there any documentation that it had previously been owned to the heirs – actually, that data did not become available until a long time after the painting left the Met's possession.

The institution's deaccessioning of Olive Picking met the institution's rigorous standards for disposal – in particular, it was recorded that the artwork was deemed to be of lower caliber than additional artworks of the similar kind in the collection. Although The Met maintains its position that this artwork entered the inventory and was removed lawfully and well within all rules and regulations, the museum invites and will examine any further evidence that comes to light.

BEG's Response

William Charron representing the foundation commented: The institution is a renowned institution in the Greek capital. The attempt to sue and smear the Foundation and the Goulandris family in the United States upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, multiple times. We are convinced it will be again.