Corresponded for years with disgraced financier

A Beacon resident who is a well-known museum director resigned his position on Tuesday (Feb. 3) at the School of Visual Arts in New York City following the release of his correspondence over many years with Jeffrey Epstein.

The emails between David Ross and Epstein, a financier who killed himself in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, were among 3 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos released on Jan. 30 by the U.S. Department of Justice. The emails between the two men were first reported by ARTnews.

Ross, who is the spouse of Peggy Ross, a former Beacon City Council member, was named chair of SVA's MFA Art Practice program in 2009. He had previously been director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Ross has long been active in the Beacon art scene. Five years ago, on an episode of the podcast Beaconites, he discussed the pandemic's effect on the art world and recalled an attempt to turn Beacon's historic brick buildings into art repositories.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to felony charges of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. He served 13 months in jail, with work release.

Epstein had many powerful friends, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, who agreed on Monday (Feb. 2) to testify before the House Oversight Committee about their relationship. Elon Musk, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Richard Branson, Steve Bannon, Peter Attia and Steve Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, also knew Epstein.

There is no evidence in the files of criminal wrongdoing by Ross. In a statement to The Current, he wrote: "The fact of the matter is that I continued to believe that his troubles were a function of his friendship with former President Clinton, and foolishly I continued to try to show friendship, until the truth of his crimes became apparent to me."

In a longer statement to ARTnews, Ross said he met Epstein in the mid-1990s, when Ross was director of the Whitney. "I knew him as a wealthy patron and a collector, and it was part of my job to befriend people who had the capacity and interest in supporting the museum," Ross said.

After Epstein was jailed in 2008, Ross said: "I emailed him to find out what the story was

After Epstein was jailed in 2008, Ross said: "I emailed him to find out what the story was because this did not seem like the person I thought I knew. … He told me that he had been the subject of a political frame-up because of his support of former President Clinton. At the time, I believed he was telling me the truth."

Ross continued, according to ARTnews: "When, years later, I read that he was being investigated again on the same charges, I reached out to him to show support. That was a terrible mistake of judgment. When the reality of his crimes became clear, I was mortified and remain ashamed that I fell for his lies.

"Like many he supported with arts and education patronage, I profoundly regret that I was taken in by his story. I continue to be appalled by his crimes and remain deeply concerned for its many victims."

The correspondence between Ross and Epstein was friendly. On July 22, 2009, the day Epstein was released from jail, Ross emailed Epstein "a welcome home! Glad the nightmare is over, Jeffrey. … It was an undeserved punishment foisted upon you by jealous creeps."

In another email exchange, from October 2009, Epstein suggested he might fund an exhibit with images of minors; he suggested Statutory as the title. "Girls and boys ages 14-25 … where they look nothing like their true ages. Juvenile mug shots, Photoshop, makeup. Some people go to prison because they can't tell [their] true age. Controversial, fun. Maybe it should be a webpage, with hits tallied," Epstein wrote to Ross.

"You are incredible," Ross replied. "This would be a very powerful and freaky book. Do y...