David A. Ross, a writer and curator who led museums nationwide and has since 2009 been the chair of the MFA art practice program at New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA), makes a number of appearances in the newly released tranche of documents from the Justice Department as part of the ongoing publication of information related to late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019. The correspondence reveals what was apparently a close friendship, and one message seems to elicit financial support for an online magazine Ross worked with.
Neither Ross nor SVA immediately answered a request for comment sent via email.
Epstein showed considerable interest in the art world. His connection to Ross seems to date back to 1995, when Ross was director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. A flight log signed by pilot David Rodgers includes his name in connection with a July 13 flight from Teterboro Airport to Santa Fe New Mexico Regional Airport.
In a 2009 email, Epstein discusses an exhibition he wants to support. “Roman Polanski’s [attorneys] are coming to see me,” he writes. “I might want to fund an exhibition entitled statutory. Girls and boys ages 14 – 25, where they look nothing like their true ages. Juvenile mug shots, photo shop, make up. Some people go to prison because they can’t tell the true age. Controversial. Fun. Maybe it should be a web page, with hits, tallied.”
“You are incredible,” replies Ross. “This would be a very owerful [sic] and freaky book. Do you know that total porno commercial kiddie picture of Brooke Shields that Richard Prince appropriated for an exhibition in the early 1980s?” Prince’s photo Spiritual America (1983) appropriated a 1976 photo of a 10-year-old, naked Shields by commercial photographer Gary Gross. “Yes,” Epstein responds, “they closed it off in the London show.”
Also in 2009, under the subject line “So sorry,” Ross writes, “I’m in London and just saw that stupid abortive deposition video on HuffPo. Damn, this was not what you needed or deserved. That lawyer was a complete asshole, and I think you handled yourself with dignity. Sorry to have seen this… but I know how tough you are, and in fact, it probably bothers me as your friend more than it does you.”
Another from 2009 says, “Spent the day with Brice Marden at the great Cezanne show in Philly,” and mentions preparing for a “senior seminar preparing these young artists for the real world that awaits them. How fucking ironic can you get!”
“Glad the nightmare is over, Jeffrey,” writes Ross in another 2009 message. “it was an undeserved punishment foisted upon you by jealous creeps.”
Also from 2009: “So funny to hear from you today. Last night I had a dream with you in it.”
In yet another message from that year, under the subject line “Where art thou?,” a flight and visit are discussed. “Do you want to come here today, leave tomorrow night?” asks Epstein. “Sure,” responds Ross. “I’ll call you at 8 to discuss.”
In a September 2009 message, Ross seems to suggest Epstein could support FLYP, an “online magazine” (then at flypmedia.com) where he was editor-at-large. In July, he had mentioned, “I’m enjoying this new identity, but it may be short-lived if I can’t figure out a way to help turn this into a real business.”
“We continue to push ahead to find a future for FLYP,” writes Ross. “What we need to secure enough time to find the right partner moving forward is actually a relatively small amount of money, and if found, it would quickly be leveraged by the support of several large potential investors.”
A 2010 email suggests Epstein tune in to The Colbert Report to see Ross’s appearance.
In 2015, under the subject line “Sad,” Ross writes, “It is depressing to see how you are once again being dragged through the mud. I’m still proud to call you a friend.”
Ross led museums nationwide over a period of decades, serving as director of the San Franciso Museum of Modern Art (1998–2001, when he resigned unexpectedly), the Whitney (1991–98), and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (1982–91). He was also associate director and chief curator at the Berkeley Art Museum (1977–81); deputy director and curator of video art at the Long Beach Museum of Art (1974–77), and curator of video art at the Everson Museum of Art (1971–74). He has curated projects at institutions worldwide, including the Castello di Rivoli in Italy, the Art Sonje Center in Seoul, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The files came as part of a release of some three million additional pages of data released on January 30. In its announcement of the release, the Justice Department cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act of November 19, 2025, which mandated all the files be released by December 19. Victim advocates claim that potentially millions more documents are still being held in secret.
