Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have a valuable collection of artwork,but if it weren’t for Instagram, we might not know anything about it.
According to Artnet, the couple has been criticized for failing to disclose their art collection in financial documents, despite some pieces being worth as much as $500,000.
According to the Office of Government Ethics, federal employees are required to report any artwork that is kept for investment purposes and is worth more than $1,000. Experts say that the couple’s collection as a whole could be worth millions, but a lawyer for Kushner has told Artnet that the art is “for decorative purposes” only.
Trump is an enthusiastic Instagram user and has posted many images of herself and her family against the backdrop of their expansive art collection.
Take a look at some of those photos below:
Ivanka Trump frequently takes pictures of herself and her family posing in front of artwork that lines the walls of their $4 million condo on Park Avenue in New York.
http://instagr.am/p/BOI4ve4ArI9
Some of these pieces are worth as much as $500,000. The couple reportedly did not disclose this information in financial reports when they became federal employees.
Source: Artnet
Here, Trump poses with two of her children, Arabella and Joseph. In the background is a Nate Lowman painting from his "Bullet Holes" collection. Two of his similar works sold at Sotheby's for $177,735 in 2016 and $665,000 in 2014. On the right-hand side is a Dan Cohen "chewing gum" painting.
http://instagr.am/p/BAWTZ5mCkEK
According to Bloomberg, a similar Cohen piece sold for $578,000 at Phillips New York in 2012.
Source: Bloomberg, Sotheby's 2013 and 2016
These paintings have appeared in the background of Trump's Instagram posts for months.
http://instagr.am/p/BNh4Y_pgxdj
In another photo from Harpers Bazaar, Trump is shown posing at her dining table in front of a work by Alex Israel, a young Los Angeles artist.
http://instagr.am/p/BI2OX5_gthD
According to Bloomberg, two similar pieces by Israel were sold for $581,000 and $341,000 at a contemporary art sale at Phillips New York in 2014.
http://instagr.am/p/BK9NJJ2ge21
Source: Phillips New York and Bloomberg
In another photo, Trump takes a pre-Tony Awards shot of herself with an Alex de Corte painting in the background. This prompted the artist to write on her Instagram page, "@ivankatrump please get my work off of your walls. I am embarrassed to be seen with you."
http://instagr.am/p/3pP6k0ikPw
Source: Artnet
In the past, the two have been described as "avid art collectors."
http://instagr.am/p/BNNTrgZAvGD
Source: Vogue
Many of their paintings are from young and up-and-coming artists. This piece by German artist David Ostrowski is part of his “Relax/Outline Paintings" series, which was first shown in Cologne in 2013.
http://instagr.am/p/zhoIm5CkFJ
In the background here is a piece by Will Boone, an American artist who lives in LA.
http://instagr.am/p/BNFc3WugezU
As federal employees, Kushner and Trump are required to disclose any art kept for investment purposes, but Kushner's lawyer claimed that the collection is purely decorative: "Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump display their art for decorative purposes and have made only a single sale," the lawyer said in a statement on behalf of the White House.
http://instagr.am/p/BGS8kCtCkP0
Nevertheless, the couple has agreed to report the collection.
Source: Artnet