Congress on Monday released a section of Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called "birthday book" that includes a poem attributed to financier Leon Black, and hours later Black was photographed leaving a private dinner at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan where fellow Epstein associate Glenn Dubin was also in attendance.
The book, long circulated in redacted form, was made public in full by lawmakers, revealing a 2003 tribute that includes lines attributed to Black such as "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 volume also contains a drawing that appears to bear Donald Trump’s signature; Trump has denied signing the book.
A representative for Black said Tuesday that he "was proud to be at the dinner as a longtime supporter of the arts and member of the MoMA board." Black has characterized his relationship with Epstein as "limited" and has said he regrets the association. A legal firm retained to review his ties concluded that although Black paid Epstein millions for financial services, he did not know about Epstein’s sexual misconduct.
Black, an art collector whose holdings have included a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, stepped down as MoMA chairman in 2021 after protests by artists and museum employees over his ties to Epstein. Dubin, who was also photographed entering the private event, has been publicly linked to Epstein for years; Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers, has alleged that she was directed to have sex with Dubin, an assertion his representative has called "unsubstantiated." Both Black and Dubin have galleries at MoMA that bear their names.
Activist pressure on the museum has surfaced periodically since Epstein’s 2019 arrest and subsequent death in jail. In 2019 protesters displayed an advertisement opposite MoMA urging the institution to remove Black and Dubin from its board, drape their named galleries in black and install wall labels explaining the reasons. Museum officials have not publicly revised gallery namings to date.
MoMA did not immediately comment on the presence of Black or Dubin at the private dinner, and a representative for Dubin did not respond to a request for comment. The house-cleaning review of Black’s relationship with Epstein and his eventual resignation as chairman did not end public scrutiny of donor influence at major cultural institutions.
The release of the birthday book renewed attention to the social networks that surrounded Epstein. Legal settlements, criminal proceedings and public revelations since his death in 2019 have produced renewed examination of wealthy patrons’ roles at museums and other cultural institutions. The timing of the book’s release and the appearance of two men publicly linked to Epstein at a prominent art-world event drew immediate attention from art insiders and the broader public, underscoring ongoing tensions between philanthropic giving, institutional governance and accountability.
Investigations and litigation connected to Epstein’s associates have continued to surface documents and testimony that agencies and media outlets say shed light on the extent of his networks. For now, the public disclosure of the book and the photographs from the MoMA event have prompted renewed debate about how cultural institutions address donors whose reputations become contested.
Epstein died in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. MoMA and representatives for Dubin did not provide comments responding to queries about the event or the reactions it generated.