Sir Maxwell Aitken says his grandfather, Lord Beaverbrook, may have exaggerated his generosity to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in a series of magazine articles dating from the 1950s.

Testifying at an arbitration hearing in Fredericton on Tuesday, Aitken suggested that the original Lord Beaverbrook might have bent the truth about giving a series of valuable paintings to the gallery to persuade his rich friends to make similar donations to his pet cause.

Sir Maxwell Aitken heads into an arbitration hearing that will settle an ownership dispute over 133 paintings worth $100 million.
(CBC)

Aitken, who administers the charitable foundation that doles out money from his grandfather's fortune, said that's the only reasonable explanation for Beaverbrook's comments to journalists about giving the works to the gallery.

For example, one of the articles, published in the Atlantic Advocate and written by Beaverbrook's friend Michael Wardell, refers to the works as gifts.

The arbitration will decide who owns 133 paintings at stake in the dispute between the U.K. Beaverbrook Foundation and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton.

The foundation insists the paintings, worth $100 million, were simply on loan to the gallery. The gallery maintains the paintings were gifts from Lord Beaverbrook, who spent his childhood in Newcastle.

Gallery lawyers have entered several magazine articles from the late 1950s and early 1960s into evidence. Aitken acknowledged Tuesday morning that he did not look at the articles in the archives when preparing the foundation's case.

'We cannot start handing out assets of the foundation based on press articles of 45 years ago.'— Sir Maxwell Aitken

He said Lord Beaverbrook's intentions did not interest him, only the facts of ownership. He relied solely on the foundation's own records to support its claim for the paintings.

"I am the chairman of an important British foundation," Aitken said. "We cannot start handing out assets of the foundation based on press articles of 45 years ago."

Gallery lawyer Larry Lowenstein said Aitken may have made that judgment in good faith, but the fact remains that the foundation's records appear to be contradicted by Beaverbrook's own wishes.

Gallery director Bernard Riordon was also expected to testify Tuesday.