Sydney Swans chairman and investment banker Andrew Pridham has rid himself of the painting he bought for $2.5 million in 2007 believing it to be a master work by Australian art superstar Brett Whiteley. He has donated the painting to the University of Melbourne in the hope it will help aspiring art experts spot fakes.
Pridham acquired the vast 1.5-metre high and 2.4-metre wide Big Blue Lavender Bay on the recommendation of his then art adviser who described it as a “trophy painting”. Unfortunate advice, as it turned out. Pridham soon found himself embroiled in the biggest case of alleged art fraud in Australia’s history.
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Gabriella Coslovich is an arts journalist with more than 20 years’ experience, including 15 at The Age, where she was a senior arts writer. Her book, Whiteley on Trial, on Australia’s most audacious of alleged art fraud, won a Walkley in 2018.
