An eBay seller claimed to have Jeffrey Epstein’s reproduction of a painting by Kees van Dongen, a Dutch painter who became a part of the Fauvist movement in France during the early 20th century.
The work in question, it should be noted, was not a bona fide van Dongen. It was a print based on a ca. 1905 painting called Femme Fatale, which sold at Christie’s in 2004 for $5.94 million.
At the time, Christie’s touted the work for demonstrating “in uncompromising fashion the artist’s penchant for exploiting shock value, here taken to an unprecedented extreme.” The painting depicts a green-faced woman with one breast spilling out from her shirt.
Epstein owned a giclée print of the van Dongen painting and hung it above his desk in his Upper East Side townhouse. And while this may not be a true van Dongen, Epstein appears to have held a fascination with the artist. A set of files related to the convicted sex offender by the Justice Department earlier this year include a document related to a Sotheby’s auction of a van Dongen painting as well as a CD that was cryptically labeled “Kees van Dongen” with a marker.
The New York Post first reported on the eBay listing, which has since been removed. A screenshot included within the article noted that the print was being sold by a user named montanawildhack and that its title noted that the work was “Documented by Federal Prosecutors.”
“You already know why you’re here,” the eBay listing reportedly read prior to its deletion. “This is the giclee reproduction of Kees Van Dongen’s Femme Fatale that hung above Jeffrey Epstein’s desk at his Manhattan mansion. Not a rumor. Federal investigators photographed it. The NY Post wrote about it. Artnet covered it. Google it right now.” (Indeed, both the Post and Artnet News previously reported on this.)
It’s not the first time the print has headed to sale. Last year, Millea Bros. Auctioneers, a New Jersey auction house, put the work up for sale with a price tag of just $275.
On eBay, however, the seller was attempting to gain $50,000. When the Post reported on the listing, bidding had already reached $25,000.
As to the listing’s deletion, eBay told the Post: “Upon review, the listing was found to be in violation of eBay’s policies and has been removed.” It isn’t clear, however, which rules the listing violated.
