[MSN] A PURPORTED $150 million masterpiece stolen in what has been billed as Australia's biggest art heist was bought for $20 at a northern NSW antiques shop, a court was told yesterday.

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Court told 'masterpiece' sold for $20Article 

By Greg Stolz 
December 10, 2007 11:00pm

A PURPORTED $150 million masterpiece stolen in what has been billed as
Australia's biggest art heist was bought for $20 at a northern NSW antiques
shop, a court was told yesterday.

But the painting's owner, art restorer John Opit, angrily rejected the
evidence and said the case was not about the value of the artwork but who
had stolen it.

Opit maintained the painting, Boy in a High Chair, was by 19th century
French impressionist Paul Cezanne and had been in his family for
generations.

"All the people in this case are trying to say that the Cezanne is worth
nothing," he told Lismore District Court.

"I can understand why (because) the people responsible for stealing it will
get a lighter sentence. (But) if it's worth $150 million, it's the greatest
crime in the country."

Gold Coast man Brett Michael Williams, 46, has pleaded not guilty to
stealing paintings and other items from Opit's remote Limpinwood studio near
Murwillumbah in February 2004.

Opit was recalled to the witness box yesterday after sensational claims the
so-called Cezanne had been bought by him from a Lismore antiques shop just
before the break-in.

Antiques dealer Howard Dooley said the painting had been in his shop for up
to seven years and produced a receipt showing that it was sold to Opit in
late January 2004.

But Opit said the receipt looked to have been altered.

"This is not a court case about a painting, it's a court case about theft,"
he told the court.

In his closing submission, Crown prosecutor John Baxter-Wright said it did
not matter whether the purported Cezanne was worth $20 or $150 million.

"It doesn't alter the fact that this painting, together with a good deal of
other property, was stolen from John Opit in February 2004," he said.

Mr Baxter-Wright said the evidence, including the discovery of a large
amount of Opit's property at Williams' house, and his alleged confession to
an associate, pointed to Williams' guilt.

Defence barrister Eoin Johnston questioned Opit's credibility and said there
were too many unanswered questions to convict his client.

The jury is expected to retire this morning to consider its verdict.

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