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The family members of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against New York's Metropolitan Museum, claiming that a the Dutch artist art piece was seized by the Nazis.

Case History

Per the lawsuit, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the piece, titled Olive Harvest, in the year 1935. A year after, they were compelled to leave their residence in the German city of Munich just before WWII.

The legal action states that the institution, which acquired the masterpiece in the 1950s for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, should have known it was likely confiscated property. The heirs are now seeking the return of the painting along with compensation.

In the decades since the war, this plundered piece has been repeatedly and secretly trafficked, purchased and sold in and through New York, alleges the court document.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from Munich to California in 1936 with their offspring due to Nazi persecution. Nevertheless, they were barred from transporting the painting, which was painted by the Dutch post-impressionist in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the Nazi government designated the artwork as property of the state and prohibited the Sterns from taking it abroad. Following authorization from a Third Reich agent, a trustee designated by the authorities sold the artwork on the couple's behalf. But, the money from the auction were deposited in a restricted account, which the Nazis later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or shortly after, the canvas entered New York and was bought by a prominent figure, one of America's wealthiest people. Eventually, it was sold through a commercial outlet to the museum, which then transferred it to Greek shipping magnate the magnate and his wife, Elise, in the early 1970s.

The Goulandris pair set up the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in 1979, which runs a gallery in Athens, Greece where the masterpiece is currently exhibited.

Claims and Defenses

The institution and a surviving nephew of Goulandris are named as defendants. The legal action states that the family and its associated organizations have hidden and obscured the artwork's provenance and current place from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the Goulandris Defendants continue to conceal the manner and time the foundation came into ownership of the artwork; the Stern family's ownership of the Painting from 1935 to 1938; and the facts that the Nazis confiscated the artwork from the Stern family, coerced the couple into parting with it via a Nazi-appointed agent, and confiscated the funds of the transaction.

Earlier Lawsuits

The Stern heirs filed a comparable case in California in the year 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An appeal was also denied in May 2025.

Institution's Statement

The complaint contends that the Met's purchase of the painting was authorized by a curator, the museum's curator of European art and a renowned specialist on art theft during the Nazi era. The institution and its expert knew or should have known that the masterpiece had probably been stolen by Nazis.

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

A representative stated: Never during The Met's ownership of the painting was there any documentation that it had once belonged to the family – in fact, that knowledge did not become available until many years after the masterpiece left the institution's holdings.

The Met's sale of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – specifically, it was noted that the piece was deemed to be of inferior standard than additional artworks of the similar kind in the inventory. Although the institution respectfully stands by its position that this artwork entered the collection and was sold lawfully and well within all standards and procedures, the institution is open to and will review any new information that comes to light.

Foundation's Defense

A lawyer representing BEG commented: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The action to litigate and defame the organization and the Goulandris family in the America upon misleadingly incomplete allegations was already thrown out, on two occasions. We are confident it will be once more.