Artwork made and signed by Donald Trump, some of which was auctioned for thousands of pounds, has resurfaced – rubbishing his own denials of never drawing anything
Donald Trump’s denial that he ever drew after being accused of sending a lewd sketch of a naked woman to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been rubbished – by himself.
A trail of artwork made and signed by the President – some auctioned for tens of thousands of pounds – has now resurfaced, undermining his own defence. Reports in the US claim Trump added a sexually suggestive letter and sketch to a leather-bound birthday album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. The president emphatically denied involvement. “I never wrote a picture in my life,” he said in a statement.
The report alleges Trump’s contribution included a typewritten letter to Prince Andrew’s pal Epstein framed by a sketch of a naked woman drawn in black marker. The president’s signature is said to appear below the waist of the figure, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter reportedly ends with: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has taken to his Truth Social platform to reinforce his denial, posting: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
However, the Mirror quickly found examples of sketches Trump has drawn and signed in the past, many of which were auctioned, including at Sotheby’s and Julien’s for charitable causes. In his 2008 book Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success, he also wrote candidly about his art.
“It takes me a few minutes to draw something, in my case, it’s usually a building or a cityscape of skyscrapers,” he said. “Art may not be my strong point, but the end result is help for people who need it.”
A copy of the book includes one of Trump’s own sketches. In January this year, Sotheby’s sold a Trump drawing, penned with his signature gold marker, for £11,530. The sketch was described as “reminiscent of the Riverside South development project in Manhattan”.
Though dated “2004” by Trump, Sotheby’s states the drawing was initially created in 2003 – the same year as the alleged Epstein birthday letter. The artwork was produced for a celebrity auction called “Doodle for Hunger”. In 2017, another of Trump’s New York City skyline drawings fetched £22,400 at auction. Originally created in 2005 for a fundraiser. It had been widely publicised as part of Trump’s philanthropic artwork.
That same year, a second skyline sketch sold for £15,350. Julien’s Auctions, which handled several sales of Trump’s drawings, also sold a 2006 sketch titled George Washington Bridge for £3,430. It was described as “an original ink illustration on paper” and “signed in black ink by Donald Trump lower centre.”
The drawing at the centre of the Wall Street Journal exposé is said to have also been created using black marker, matching Trump’s preferred method in multiple known examples. In yet another instance, a black marker sketch of the Empire State Building, drawn by him at Mar-a-Lago in Florida for a charity event, was sold for £12,310 by Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles in 2017.
According to The New York Times, the sketch had initially sold for under £80, before appreciating dramatically in value. Julien’s listing described it as “a hand-drawn sketch of the Empire State Building executed in black marker by Donald J. Trump and signed by Trump.”
Despite this extensive paper trail, Trump continued to deny any connection to the Epstein letter, insisting: “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story.”
The White House was approached for clarification following the online circulation of these numerous Trump-drawn artworks. In response, officials referred back to Trump’s Truth Social post.
