The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court seeking confirmation of its ownership of the 16th‑century diptych Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The painting was looted by the Nazis from the collection of Dutch art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The museum’s action, announced on Monday, is a response to a lawsuit filed in September by the Los Angeles Hebrew Federation and its board chair, Daniel Gryczman. Gryczman represents Marei von Saher, the heir of Goudstikker, who claims the painting was rightfully hers before the Second World War. Goudstikker purchased the Cranach diptych in 1931. When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands in 1940, Goudstikker fled, leaving behind a gallery of roughly 1,200 works. He died in an accident while traveling to the United States. The Nazis forced his company to sell its assets; Hermann Göring acquired the painting along with other works. Allied forces recovered the piece after the war and returned it to the Dutch government, but Goudstikker’s daughter, Desirée, did not pursue its return. In 1961, an heir of the Stroganoff family sought the painting’s return, alleging it had been confiscated by Soviet authorities. A 1966 agreement allowed the Stroganoff heir to purchase the work, and the Norton Simon Foundation bought it for $800,000. The diptych has been on public display in the museum ever since. Von Saher began restitution efforts in 1998 and sued the museum in 2007. Her claims were dismissed three times. In August 2016, after a 12‑year legal battle, a court ruled that the museum was the legal owner; the appellate court declined to reopen the case. The heirs now rely on amendments to the Holocaust Era Asset Recovery (HEAR) Act, which restricts certain protections for American plaintiffs in restitution claims, including the use of the “state‑action” doctrine. A representative of the Hebrew Federation has not yet responded to a request for comment on the museum’s lawsuit.