The Nazi looting of works of art adds a new chapter to the judicial courts of the United States: nine descendants of a Jewish collector are seeking restitution and damages orders for the painting “La cueillette des olives” (1889). by Vincent Van Goh, secretly sold by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (MET) to the Foundation of Greek shipping magnate Basil Goulandris in Athens in 1972.
The work in question, a 73.5 x 92.5 centimeter painting currently in the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, was secretly sold by the MET in 1972 to avoid facing restitution requests. It had been acquired in 1956 by the important Vincent Astor museum, according to what was reported, among others, by the American Courthouse News and the British The Art Newspaper.
The nine heirs of Hedwig Stern, married to Fritz Stern, a collector of German Jewish origin, fled Nazi persecution in Munich (Germany) at the end of 1936 and settled in Berkeley, California (United States). Now they are suing the museum and the foundation created in 1979 for restitution and monetary compensation for the looting by the Nazis of their relatives’ property, including the painting by the famous post-impressionist painter confiscated by the Third Reich.
The lawsuit was recently filed before the Northern District Court of California, in Oakland, California (United States) and in it the heirs -Judith and Deborah Silver, Kofi, Sekai and Mary Lee; Walter and Daniel Henrickson; and Dorit and Ilan Marcks – point out that the museum and the Foundation (which exhibits it in Athens) were aware of the origin of the painting, whose sale value by the MET was over $75,000, even though the actual price of the painting is not known. transaction.
In turn, the appellants point out that the Goulandri “have hidden the painting for decades”, and in the claim filed against both institutions, the amount of compensation for damages corresponds to the value of the painting, plus the request for the return of the Opera .
The painting, whose translated title is “The olive harvest” and was made in Arles (France) by one of the most important and appreciated painters – although not alive – of European modernity, has had various owners depending on the data of provenance published. the Greek Foundation, including Alfred Wolff, JK Thannhauser, Vincent Astor and M. Knoedler (1955-1956).
The 13-page lawsuit alleges that the Gestapo prohibited the Sterns from exporting their artwork and the disputed painting, and that their former lawyer, Kurt Mosbacher, was appointed receiver to liquidate the assets, selling the Van Gogh in 1938 and a painting by Pierre Renoir to the German collector Theodor Werner. But, in January 1939, all of their assets were confiscated, as was the financial compensation Werner had granted them. And just in 1955, the German collector returned a work by Gustave Courbet to Hedwig Stern, but not Renoir or Van Gogh, for which she never received compensation despite the claims made between 1948 and 1955.
On the other hand, the heirs believe that the then chief curator of the Met, Theodore Rousseau – one of the world’s experts on Nazi looting – knew the origins of the painting and still allowed it to be sold. What emerges from the lawsuit is that the information contained in the archives of the MET expert will be accessible to the public only in 2073, one hundred years after his death.
This is the second complaint of Nazi looting of a Van Gogh painting filed this month, since descendants of German Jewish banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy of Berlin – who had to sell seven van Gogh paintings under Nazi pressure – on December 13 have filed a lawsuit against the Japanese insurance company Sompo Holdings for the return of the “Sunflowers” (1888), in Illinois, they point out.
“La cueillette des olives” was exhibited this year at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (Netherlands) with the permission of the Greek Foundation and is currently in the Athens museum of the entity inaugurated in 2019 according to the specialized media Artnet.
According to The Artnewspaper, the Foundation has not received any official notification or action for the painting and, on the other hand, they point out that the museum’s press team did not respond to questions asked about the particular judicial submission, although they indicate that a spokesperson said that there was no evidence from the Met that the painting belonged to the Sterns and that the work had entered the collection and had been legally removed from the collection in accordance with museum guidelines and policies.
The claim is for the return of the painting, the profit from the sale obtained by the museum, and damages for the market value of the painting. (Telam)
