Eight years ago Brett Whiteley's former wife looked at artwork said to have been painted by her husband and thought to herself "it's not right".
A Victorian Supreme Court jury agreed with her on Thursday, finding two Melbourne men, art restorer Mohamed Aman Siddique and dealer Peter Gant, guilty of obtaining and attempting to obtain financial advantage by deception by selling fake Whiteley paintings for millions.
At the centre of their month-long trial were two large Lavender Bay paintings and a third artwork called Through the Window.
Siddique was accused of creating the paintings at a studio in Collingwood.
Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham bought Blue Lavender Bay for $2.5 million, while Orange Lavender Bay sold for $1.1 million.
The third painting was set to be sold for $950,000.
At trial, Whiteley's former wife Wendy testified she knew there was something wrong as soon as she saw the paintings.
The Blue Lavender painting was the first thing she saw walking into Mr Pridham's multi-million-dollar Mosman home in April 2008.
She thought to herself "it's not right" but didn't say anything.
"It's a big deal to tell someone 'you've got a huge fake on the wall'," Ms Whiteley told the court on April 22.
Ms Whiteley said the Blue and Orange Lavender Bay paintings were inconsistent with her former husband's work.
Orange Lavender Bay, which she inspected in 2009, was not painted by her former husband as it had a lack of spontaneity, a lack of wit, and a lack of spirit, she said.
"It looked as though as though it had been traced and knitted together badly," Ms Whiteley said.
The star witness told the trial how she spent years travelling and helping Whiteley as he painted the works that made him famous.
Defence counsel for Gant, Trevor Wraight QC, had said it was possible Ms Whiteley was unfamiliar with some of her husband's work because they had lived apart between 1987 and 1988 while Ms Whiteley underwent rehab for heroin addiction in London.
His style had changed following their divorce, defence said.
Ms Whiteley, who controls the copyright to the late artist's works, said separation had not dimmed her knowledge of his technique.
"I don't know everything that Brett did, but I certainly know what he didn't do," Ms Whiteley said.
The maximum penalty for obtaining financial advantage by deception in Victoria is 10 years.
Some of the men's supporters cried after the verdicts.
Crown prosecutor Susan Borg opposed bail for both men, saying it was likely they faced custodial sentences.
But Justice Michael Croucher granted bail on the basis they had not breached any of their conditions since being charged in 2014.
Neither men commented to media as they left the court.
It's understood they plan to appeal the convictions, but will wait until sentencing is finalised.
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