Christie's to pay up for fake art: judge

Prestigious auction house Christie's has been ordered to cough up more than $100,000 after it failed to tell a barrister that a painting it sold her might be a fake.

Louise McBride launched legal action against Christie's Australia for misleading or deceptive conduct after she discovered there were serious questions about the authenticity of a painting titled Faun and Parrot which she purchased from the auction house in May 2000.

Ms McBride had forked out more than $75,000 for the colourful piece, believing it had been painted by the late Australian artist Albert Tucker in the 1960s.

But a decade later - when she was arranging to sell it and a number of other artworks - she discovered there was more to the work than met the eye.

She then took Christie's, vendor Holland Fine Art (HFA), as well as art adviser Vivienne Sharpe, to court claiming damages.

In a decision handed down on Thursday, Justice Patricia Bergin upheld Ms McBride's claim against them for misleading and deceptive conduct.

She also found Ms McBride's claims against Christie's for deceit and unconscionable conduct had been made out.

"I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the painting is a forgery," she said.

While none of the parties involved in the sale of the painting knew at the time of the 2000 auction the painting was a fake, Judge Bergin said it wasn't long before Christie's caught wind that something wasn't right.

"By August 2000 Christie's had been advised by a group of eminent art experts that there were 'real concerns' about the authenticity of the painting," she said.

"Christie's remained silent. It failed to inform its principal, HFA, the plaintiff or Ms Sharpe."

In circumstances where Christie's conditions of business entitled Ms McBride to seek a refund if the painting was discovered to be a forgery within five years of purchase, Judge Bergin said it was "misleading or deceptive" for the auction house to say nothing.

She ordered Christie's pay 85 per cent of the $118,788 she awarded to Ms McBride.

HFA will pay 10 per cent of the loss while Ms Sharpe will foot the remaining five per cent.