FIRST OFF . . .

An heir to the estate of Post-Impressionist painter Maurice Utrillo, who is crusading against alleged Utrillo forgeries, threatened Thursday to disrupt a major Paris sale of the artist’s works. Jean Fabris was thrown out of Christie’s auction house in London this week after shouting “Fake, fake, fake!” when works attributed to Utrillo went on sale. He told reporters he has asked a Paris court to seize seven Utrillo canvases before they are offered for sale Sunday at prices expected to range from $33,000 to $330,000. “The signatures are forged, the perspectives wrong, the detail poor,” said Fabris, who is not only heir to the Utrillo estate but also the self-appointed defender of his works. Paris auctioneer Guy Loudmer is optimistic a court will hand down a ruling in his favor today. “I am perfectly sure the paintings are authentic,” Loudmer told Reuters. “I’ve been in this business for 25 years, I know a real Utrillo when I see one, and our works are covered by a 30-year guarantee.” After being thrown out of Christie’s earlier this week, Fabris was barred from a Sotheby’s sale at which an Utrillo was sold for $464,000. All seven of the controversial canvases depict life early this century in the narrow streets of Montmartre. Fabris, former secretary of the painter’s late widow, alleges they are among thousands of forgeries that date back to the first half of the century.