Art + Law in the News

Heirs File Suit Over Allegedly Nazi-Looted Olive Picking by Vincent van Gogh

The heirs of Hedwig Stern and Frederick Stern have sued Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) and the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, alleging that the 1889 van Gogh painting Olive Picking was looted by the Nazis after the Sterns fled Germany in 1936. The lawsuit claims the Met acquired the work in 1956 and sold it in 1972, while failing to investigate or disclose its provenance. The heirs seek the painting’s return or damages, while The Met asserts it had no record of the Sterns’ ownership during its hold.

Heist at the Oakland Museum of California

Thieves stole over 1,000 artifacts from an off-site storage facility of the Oakland Museum of California in mid-October 2025, including Native American baskets, carved ivory, jewelry, and historical memorabilia. The museum called it a “brazen act” that deprives the public of its cultural heritage. The FBI Art Crime Team and Oakland Police are investigating, warning that the items may already be circulating through resale markets. The theft underscores the vulnerability of museum storage facilities and highlights ongoing challenges in cultural property protection, provenance tracking, and art crime enforcement across the museum sector.

When Politics Meets Public Art: Trump Fires the Fine Arts Commission

In a surprising turn of events, President Trump has dismissed all six members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). This independent advisory board has influenced the design, preservation, and aesthetic direction of federal buildings in Washington, D.C. since 1910. The White House has stated that the new commissioners will reflect the President’s vision. Critics warn that removing the CFA’s independent review process could undermine long-standing practices in historic preservation, public art commissioning, and transparency in administration.

Art in the City

Monet and Venice at the Brooklyn Museum

Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties at Lévy Gorvy

Sixties Surreal and High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100 at the Whitney Museum of American Art

Nicole Wittenberg at Acquavella Galleries

Alex Katz at Gladstone