Two fake forgeries of Claude Monet have fetched almost $3000 at auction in Auckland.
The two forged paintings had to be pulled from Cordy's auctioneers last month after they were discovered to be inferior imitations of famous art forger Elmyr de Hory.
Mark Forgy, a de Hory expert, spotted the auction online and contacted Cordy's to claim the two oil paintings, In the Woods at Giverny and At Giverny, were rip-offs painted more than 30 years ago by London bookmaker Ken Talbot.
Auctioneer Andrew Grigg was quick to withdraw the fake fakes from last month's sale, saying: "Of course it is never our intention to deceive and we were not aware that the faker's works were faked."
But the two pictures resurfaced at auction yesterday, advertised as, 'Fakes of fake Claude Monet and other intriguing and must view items'.