Since the release of the Epstein files, including more than three million documents published online last month, several prominent figures in the art world—like the billionaire collector Leon Black—have emerged as having longtime connections to Epstein and his financial dealings, and more still continue to surface.
David A. Ross, the chair of the Master of Fine Arts in art practice department at New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA), resigned from his role last week after newly released documents revealed his past ties with Epstein. A series of friendly correspondences between Ross and Epstein dating back decades show Ross praising Epstein’s idea for an exhibition featuring teenagers and young adults whose ages are ambiguous; in other emails, Ross expresses sympathy for the convicted sex offender long after Epstein’s first criminal conviction in 2008.
“The SVA is aware of correspondence between David A. Ross and Jeffrey Epstein, released by the Department of Justice as part of the Epstein Files,” a spokesperson for the SVA said in a statement to The Art Newspaper. “The college has accepted Mr Ross’s resignation effective 3 February.”
SVA students had called for Ross’s resignation in an open letter that lists some of the correspondence between Ross and Epstein. Ross had held his role at the SVA since 2009 and previously served as the director of the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1991 to 1998, where he sought to bolster relationships with donors and art collectors including Epstein. Following his tenure at the Whitney, Ross served as the director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for three years.
One of the most shocking emails between Ross and Epstein is from October 2009, in which Epstein wrote to Ross: “I might want to fund an exhibition entitled statutory.. girls and boys ages 14 – 25.. where they look nothing like their true ages. Juvenile mug shots. , photo shop, make up. some people go to prison because they can’t tell true age. controversial . fun. maybe it should be a web page , with hits, tallied.”
Ross responded: “You are incredible. This would be a very owerful and freaky book.” He then suggested that the show “should be a web-based exhibition — totally global, and totally open as a 2.0 platform for the ranting of everyone”.
According to court documents, Ross contacted Epstein numerous times after Epstein’s release from prison in July 2009. In September 2009, Ross wrote that he had just seen “that stupid abortive deposition video”, in which Epstein was recorded under oath as part of a civil lawsuit brought by his victims. Ross added: “Sorry to have seen this… but I know how tough you are, and in fact, it probably bothers me as your friend more than it does you. Thinking of you.” Epstein responded: “Glad to hear it… I now really know you are much tougher than I am…” In another email from that month, Ross suggested that Epstein support an online magazine called Flyp, where he served as editor-at-large.
In December 2009, Ross wrote: “Thinking of you today, and wishing you a great 2010. It HAS to be better than 2009. Will I see you up in NY soon?”
Conversations between the two took place throughout the following years. In August 2015, Epstein wrote to Ross that he was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, likely at his property Zorro Ranch, and asked Ross if he would be spending time in the area. From his SVA email account, Ross responded: “So good to hear from you Jeffrey. I’ve thought of you often. I miss you. How are you? No west travel till fall.” In September 2016, Ross wrote to Epstein that he would “love to catch up”.
In a statement to Artnews, Ross said he had met Epstein in the mid-1990s during his tenure at the Whitney and “knew him as a wealthy patron and a collector”. Epstein allegedly told Ross that “he had been the subject of a political frame-up”, and Ross said he had believed Epstein at the time. When Epstein was once again investigated in 2019, Ross reached out to show him support.
In other documents from the recently release of Epstein files, the artist Jeff Koons has been revealed to have attended a dinner party at Epstein’s home in 2013. Other documents show that Epstein sought to schedule a studio visit with Koons, the filmmaker Woody Allen and Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Koons has publicly denied having a relationship with Epstein beyond attending the party.
The philanthropist and art collector Ronald Lauder is also named several times in the Epstein files. Correspondence in 2016 and 2017 shows Epstein scheduling and attempting to schedule meetings with Lauder—the heir to the Estée Lauder Companies, patron to museums like New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art, and the founder of the Neue Galerie New York. One email confirms Epstein had a scheduled lunch meeting with Lauder in August 2017, and a later email from the same month shows Epstein’s assistant emailing Lauder’s assistant to ask for Lauder’s tax returns and his will in order “to give him the best guidance”.
Representatives for Lauder did not respond to The Art Newspaper‘s requests for comment.
