The estate of a Jewish industrialist and art collector from Germany sued the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Friday for the return of a Pablo Picasso painting in the museum's collection, reports the New York Times.

Laurel Zuckerman, the great-grandniece of the collector, is seeking more than $100 million in damages for the estate, claiming the museum did not hold good title to the painting which was sold under duress during Nazi rule. 

Based in Cologne, Paul Leffmann had owned "The Actor," from Picasso's Rose Period in 1904 and 1905, before selling it to two Parisian art dealers in 1938 for $12,000. He had fled Nazi Germany with his wife, first to Italy, then Switzerland and Brazil. Zuckerman is the administrator of the Leffmann estate.

"We believe the painting is tainted by the history of the Holocaust, and the Leffmanns, given the circumstances under which they sold it, never lost title," said Lawrence Kaye, a lawyer for Zuckerman.

The Met said in statement that it had "indisputable title" to "The Actor" and would defend its rights. The museum says the amount Leffmann received was "a higher price than any other early Picasso sold by a collector to a dealer during the 1930s."