Financier and art collector Leon Black attended a private dinner at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan hours after Congress released a portion of Jeffrey Epstein’s so‑called “birthday book” that included a note attributed to him, photos and people familiar with the event show.
The congressional release included a 2003 poem that the materials identify as a tribute from Black to Epstein on his 50th birthday, lines of which read, “A liver, a lover, a Jeff, a Jeffrey/Let’s all give a cheer for today he’s 50” and “Wet dream and cauchemar, an architecht’s wild spree/Moscow, Paris, Santa Fe, Alhambar East jamboree.” The book also contains a drawing that appears to bear a signature that the release says may be former President Donald Trump; Trump has denied signing the page. Photographs show Black leaving the MoMA event late Monday.
Black, a prominent collector whose holdings have included a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, resigned as MoMA chairman in 2021 amid protests from artists and museum workers over his ties to Epstein. A representative for Black said Tuesday that “Mr. Black was proud to be at the dinner as a longtime supporter of the arts and member of the MoMA board.” Black has previously said he had a “limited relationship” with Epstein and that he regretted the association.
A law firm review commissioned in relation to Black found that, while he paid Epstein millions for financial services, he was not aware of Epstein’s sexual misconduct, according to materials accompanying Black’s public statements in prior years.
Also photographed entering the event was financier Glenn Dubin, another longtime associate of Epstein. Virginia Giuffre, who has said she was victimized by Epstein, has alleged in past testimony that she was directed by Ghislaine Maxwell to have sexual contact with Dubin; a representative for Dubin has strongly denied the allegation, calling the statements unsubstantiated. Both Black and Dubin have donor galleries at MoMA that bear their names.
The appearance of Black and Dubin at a museum event so soon after the congressional release drew attention from artists and some members of the public, who have in prior years criticized cultural institutions for continuing to accept gifts and honor donors with contentious histories. In 2019, an activist group placed an advertisement across from MoMA calling for the institution to remove Black and Dubin from its board, to drape their named galleries in black and to install labels explaining the reasons.
Epstein died in a federal jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The congressional release of the birthday book came as part of broader interest in documents tied to Epstein’s social circle and contacts.
MoMA and a representative for Dubin did not respond to requests for comment. Photographs published by news outlets show Black and Dubin arriving and departing the private event, underscoring how the social and philanthropic worlds that intersected with Epstein continue to draw scrutiny when new material is made public.
