A California woman claims genetic testing done last year proves what her mother Patricia told her all her life: her father is the acclaimed, late sculptor Frederick Eversley.
Kelly Krechmer, 54, claims in papers filed in a Manhattan Surrogate Court she is entitled to a chunk of the artist’s $39 million estate.
Krechmer claims she confronted the artist decades ago at his SoHo studio, but he allegedly refused to accept she might be his daughter, she said in the filing seeking to be recognized as Eversley’s heir.
He allegedly told her he was sterile.
“After I explained to the Decedent that I believed he was my father, he denied paternity and refused to take a paternity test, stating that he ‘can’t have kids because I work with toxic substances,’” Krechmer said in the May 13 legal filing.
He later refused her request to take a paternity test, she claimed.
Eversley, a pioneering black expressionist best known for parabolic resin sculptures, died on March 14 at the age of 83, leaving behind his wife of 12 years, Anna, and two siblings, along with $27 million in personal property and $12 million in real estate, according to court records.
Krechmer explained in the filing she sent her saliva to 23andMe in July of 2024, and the results, she said, confirmed her “lifelong understanding” that Eversley, a light and space sculptor who died on March 14 at the age of 83, was her dad.
She emailed Eversley’s SoHo studio a month later and attached the DNA results but said she never heard back and believes his wife, Anna Maria Larsson Eversley, “intercepted” the message.
Eversley’s will was finalized by his attorneys on Sept. 4, 2024, little more than a month later, and does not name Krechmer.
The iconic artist, who left a successful engineering job to follow his passions, left the bulk of his estate to his wife, and the rest — including $250,000 each — to his siblings, Donald and Rani Eversley.
The sculptor was raised in East New York, and considered a pioneer among black expressionists.
He was known for his parabolic resin sculptures, which are on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.
“We are aware of the lawsuit brought by a woman who now claims to be Fred Eversley’s daughter, despite never having had any relationship with him, never having been acknowledged by him, and playing absolutely no part in his life,” said Eversley’s attorneys at Silberman Zaretsky PC in a statement.
“This is a transparent and opportunistic attempt to exploit a moment of deep loss for personal gain. The Estate considers this claim entirely meritless and will respond accordingly through the proper legal channels.”
A Jan. 14, 2026, hearing is set in the case.
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