A lewd portray that hung over Jeffrey Epstein’s desk inside his New York Metropolis townhouse of horrors seemed to be briefly listed on the market on eBay — for a staggering sum.
The 4-by-4-foot piece — a copy of Kees Van Dongen’s “Femme Fatale” — was listed as “Jeffrey Epstein’s Desk Artwork” on the e-commerce website someday within the final two weeks, priced at $25,000 or greatest supply.
The circa 1905 paintings includes a blue-skinned, resigned-looking lady baring one breast to the viewer.
The eBay itemizing photograph matched the portray and body that hung above Epstein’s desk inside his gaudy Higher East Facet townhouse earlier than his 2019 intercourse trafficking arrest and subsequent suicide.
“You already know why you’re right here,” the eBay itemizing learn. “That is the giclee copy 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 Publish wrote about it. Artnet coated it. Google it proper now.”
“The unique van Dongen offered at Christie’s for $5.9 million in 2004. This isn’t that. Epstein hung a faux and known as it a day,” it added. “Very on model.”
No authentication was supplied to confirm the portray was the exact same that hung in Epstein’s workplace — however the itemizing insisted it was the actual deal, explaining it was acquired from a New Jersey public sale, which flipped plenty of the lifeless pedo’s belongings final yr.
“The Epstein property offered it quietly by New Jersey public sale home Millea Bros with zero point out of the place it got here from,” the itemizing learn. “Somebody figured it out anyway. That somebody is now promoting it on eBay.”
That public sale netted not less than $100,000 in gross sales from the likes of Epstein’s desk, a bookshelf that saved lotion within the vile therapeutic massage room the place he assaulted numerous ladies, and skin-crawling paintings just like the bronze statue of a unadorned lady he wearing a marriage costume and hung from a rope above his staircase.
If the Epstein portray was genuine, the lister was trying to flip an enormous revenue off its notorious origins — because the pedophile’s portray offered on the Jersey public sale for simply $275.
The vendor appeared to have been hoping for a fair bigger revenue — with the unique itemizing title asking $50,000 or greatest supply, in comparison with the present “Purchase it Now” value of $25,000.
One element meant to bolster the portray’s veracity was included, nevertheless.
“The body is an Eli Wilner. Similar framers utilized by The White Home. You’re welcome,” the vendor wrote. “Make it yours. Grasp it above YOUR desk. Daring selection.”
The vendor — based mostly in New York Metropolis — didn’t settle for returns and was open to varied supply strategies.
However alas, their fortune was to not be. The itemizing was eliminated quickly after The Publish reached out to eBay for remark.
“Upon assessment, the itemizing was discovered to be in violation of eBay’s insurance policies and has been eliminated,” an eBay spokesperson mentioned.
It stays unclear precisely which coverage was violated, however eBay’s phrases of service bar individuals from promoting “offensive supplies,” together with the likes of Nazi, Accomplice and racist gadgets, which “promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination” are typically cited in its coverage clarification.
Excessive-ticket artwork gadgets are required to incorporate a certificates of authenticity, in accordance with eBay’s insurance policies.
The portray’s vendor didn’t reply to a request for remark from The Publish.
