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The descendants of a Jewish pair have filed a lawsuit against The Met, alleging that a the Dutch artist oil painting was looted by the Nazis.

Origins of the Dispute

As stated in the court documents, Frederick and Hedwig Stern acquired the piece, titled Olive Picking, in the year 1935. The following year, they were compelled to leave their home in Munich just before the Second World War.

The legal action states that the museum, which acquired the painting in the 1950s for a significant sum, must have realized it was almost certainly looted property. The heirs are now seeking the return of the painting along with compensation.

In the decades since WWII, this plundered piece has been often and discreetly exchanged, acquired and disposed of in and through New York, states the lawsuit.

Family's Flight

Hedwig and Frederick Stern escaped from their Munich home to the United States in the late 1930s with their six children due to the oppressive Nazi regime. Yet, they were unable to bring the painting, which was painted by the renowned Dutch in 1889.

Before the family's emigration, the regime classified the painting as a German cultural asset and prohibited the family from exporting it. After obtaining permission from a Nazi official, a trustee designated by the regime auctioned the artwork on the couple's behalf. However, the proceeds from the sale were placed in a blocked account, which the regime later confiscated.

Subsequent Ownership

Around 1948, or shortly after, the artwork was brought to NYC and was bought by Vincent Astor, a member of the Astor family. Eventually, it was transferred through a art dealer to the museum, which then passed it on to prominent shipowner Basil Goulandris and his partner, Elise, in 1972.

Basil and Elise established the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in the late 1970s, which manages a institution in Athens where the painting is currently exhibited.

Legal Arguments

The institution and a surviving nephew of the magnate are identified in the suit. The legal action states that the defendants and its associated organizations have covered up the artwork's provenance and whereabouts from the plaintiffs.

Even now, the defendants continue to hide how and when the institution came into possession of the artwork; the couple's ownership of the masterpiece from several years; and the reality that the Third Reich looted the canvas from the Stern family, pressured the Sterns into parting with it via a regime representative, and seized the funds of the transaction.

Prior Cases

The descendants filed a similar complaint in the state of California in 2022, but it was thrown out in 2024. An appeal was also dismissed in spring 2025.

Museum's Response

The lawsuit contends that the Met's purchase of the artwork was authorized by a curator, the institution's specialist of European paintings and a renowned specialist on Nazi art looting. Rousseau and the Met knew or should have known that the masterpiece had almost certainly been seized by the regime.

The Met said in a statement that it is committed to its historical dedication to resolve claims from the Nazi period.

An official commented: Never during The Met's ownership of the piece was there any record that it had previously been owned to the Stern family – indeed, that information did not become known until several decades after the painting left the Museum's collection.

The Met's sale of Olive Picking met the museum's strict criteria for removal from collection – specifically, it was recorded that the work was deemed to be of lesser quality than other pieces of the similar kind in the holdings. Even though the museum maintains its position that this piece entered the collection and was sold properly and well within all rules and regulations, the museum welcomes and will consider any further evidence that is discovered.

Foundation's Defense

A lawyer on behalf of the foundation said: The Goulandris Foundation is a highly prestigious organization in Greece. The effort to sue and smear the organization and the defendants in the America upon inaccurate and partial claims was previously dismissed, twice. We are confident it will be a third time.