Episode Details

Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with the New York Academy of Art stretched back years before his crimes became publicly notorious. Epstein served on the academy’s board from 1987 to 1994 and remained connected to the school as a donor and patron afterward, giving him access to an environment filled with young artists trying to establish their careers. Maria Farmer was a graduate student at the academy when she met Epstein in 1995, and she later said the school helped bring her into his orbit. According to Farmer, academy dean and board chair Eileen Guggenheim introduced her to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at her graduate exhibition and encouraged her to cultivate Epstein because he was an important benefactor. Farmer said Epstein wanted to buy one of her paintings at a reduced price and that she felt pressure from Guggenheim to accommodate him. Farmer was later among a small group of students who traveled to New Mexico, where she said Epstein, Maxwell and Guggenheim interacted with the artists at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. Epstein eventually hired Farmer as an art adviser, placing her even deeper inside his world.

Farmer later accused the academy of helping create the circumstances that allowed Epstein to gain her trust and access, arguing that his status as a wealthy donor gave him credibility and influence that young artists were encouraged to respect. She said the relationship that began through the art world eventually led to her working for Epstein and, in 1996, to the circumstances in which she alleged that Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her in Ohio. When Farmer publicly raised questions about the academy’s role decades later, the school commissioned an outside investigation that disputed portions of her account, including some details of the New Mexico trip and her interactions with Guggenheim. The report itself caused another controversy, with students, alumni and several trustees criticizing the academy for appearing to attack Farmer’s credibility rather than confronting how Epstein had been welcomed into the institution. Four female trustees, including Naomi Watts, resigned amid the fallout, and in August 2020 the academy issued what it called a “profound apology” to Farmer. The larger significance of Farmer’s account was that Epstein did not encounter her randomly: she said he was introduced to her through a respected cultural institution where his money, patronage and connections gave him legitimacy and access to ambitious young people.

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