Art as an Asset?

The NY Daily News and other news outlets are reporting that Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner failed to disclose millions of dollars worth of art. Kushner's attorney stated the art is not an investment but for decorative purposes. He did state they would now disclose the value of the art collection.

The NY Daily News reports

First Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, a real estate developer turned adviser to the President, have failed to disclose their lavish artwork collection reportedly worth millions, according to a report.

The couple owns pieces by artists like Dan Colen, Alex Da Corte, David Ostrowski and others. Unlike Ivanka and Jared, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasure Secretary Steve Mnuchin, have revealed their artworks, which are reported to be worth millions, too.

Kushner’s lawyer told Artnet that the couple’s artworks are not investments but for decorative purposes only.


“Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump display their art for decorative purposes and have made only a single sale,” the lawyer said. “To avoid any doubt, however, they will report their art collection.”

Trump’s Instagram feed is filled with posts showing her expensive artwork.

One photo shows a bullet hole painting by Nate Lowman that was sold for $665,000 in 2013. In another post, Trump poses in front of her dining table with an Alex Israel painting in the background. That piece was sold for $518,000 in 2014, according to Bloomberg.

Federal employees who have artworks that amount to a worth of more than $1,000 must report them, according to the Office of Government Ethics.

“One can conclude that there is an investment purpose if there is regular activity of selling or buying pieces of artwork,” Washington ethics lawyer Robert Walker told Artnet. “A single sale does not necessarily mean that Kushner will need to disclose his art assets.”

Trump is no stranger to expressing her thoughts on art.

“Buy things you love and trust your gut,” Trump said when asked what advice she has for aspiring art collectors in a 2013 Artsy Magazine interview. “While there are certainly a few pieces we have outgrown, most of the art we own we have fallen even more in love with as we have lived with it.”

Source: The NY Daily News