New details about the New York Academy of Art‘s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have surfaced in the latest files released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2007, the school’s board chair, Eileen Guggenheim, was interviewed by the FBI about Epstein in connection with “a federal investigation regarding the sexual exploitation of minors,” according to an FBI document. The next year, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to two state charges of solicitation of prostitution, one involving a minor. In 2013, Guggenheim courted him to support the school, correspondence in the files shows.

A representative for the school said that Guggenheim was unavailable for comment.

The newly released documents provide background on a portrait scholarship that Epstein supported around 2014, through which he gave $10,000 each to three students that he chose based on reviews of their work. In exchange, he was given the opportunity to commission the students to paint portraits he selected.

The NYAA confirmed Epstein’s contribution to the scholarship program and said in a statement that, in 2020, “the Academy donated those funds to Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, a national organization dedicated to empowering commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked girls and young woman.” (In 2020, it disclosed a $30,000 donation to a charity for victims of sexual assault.)

From 1987 to 1994, Epstein served on the board of the graduate school, which came under scrutiny following his arrest in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking minors and his death in a New York jail cell. One former student, Maria Farmer, has alleged that Guggenheim, a former dean of students, introduced her to Epstein and his alleged co-conspirator Ghislane Maxwell. Farmer has claimed that the two sexually assaulted her in 1996 and that Guggenheim blamed her when she reported the alleged incident to her. Guggenheim has denied introducing her to them and has said she does not recall such a conversation.

An investigation commissioned by the school found discrepancies in Farmer’s story and determined that Guggenheim should be cleared of wrongdoing. The school’s leaders have faced criticism from students and alumni over their handling of the controversy, as Artnet News reported in 2020.

The newly public documents show how the school worked with Epstein to establish the scholarship. In a December 2013 letter in the new files, Guggenheim wrote to Epstein on NYAA letterhead to see if he would sponsor it:

“As Academy board chair, I am writing to tell you about a special scholarship opportunity that may interest you. . .

Here is how it works. As a sponsor you would review the portfolios of our most talented artists with financial need. Next you would select the MFA candidate whose work you find the most appealing.

You then meet the student (if you wish). . . As a tribute to your generosity, that student will produce a portrait of the subject of your choice.”

Email exchanges in 2014 and 2015 that involved Epstein, his assistant Lesley Groff, and the school’s then-director of marketing, Liz Hobson, contain discussions about what to name the scholarship. Epstein ultimately went with the “JEE Portrait Scholarship.” (His initials were J.E.E., for Jeffrey Edward Epstein.)

Earlier emails in the files about Epstein’s financial support for the school mention his 2012 contribution to the school’s annual Tribeca Ball, and float the possibility of including his comments on the school’s website.

Kyeong Keun No’s portrait of  Leon Black’s two sons, Josh and Ben. Image via Instagram.

One of the scholarship recipients was artist Kyeong Keun No, who painted a portrait for Epstein depicting two of the sons of investor and former Museum of Modern Art board chairman Leon Black, a central figure in the Epstein scandal. The portrait of Josh and Ben Black is visible on the artist’s Instagram feed. According to the emails, it was picked up from the artist’s studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, in January 2017.

Another scholarship recipient, artist Nick Gebhart, appears to have painted a portrait of Leon Black’s daughter, Victoria Black. In a November 2015 email, the school’s development director, Lisa Kirk, wrote that “Nick Gebhart’s painting of Victoria is wrapped and ready to be picked up or delivered.” Gebhart did not respond to a request for comment.

A third student, Bernard Garcia, was apparently asked to paint a portrait of Karyna Shuliak, a New York dentist from Belarus who was a girlfriend of Epstein. Epstein reportedly considered marrying Shuliak at one point and even named her as a beneficiary of his fortune. Garcia did not respond to a request for comment.

One FBI document in the files appears to detail information that Guggenheim and her husband, Russell Wilkinson, provided about Epstein’s earlier involvement with the school, around the time that he was on its board. It states that “Epstein was a social acquaintance with artist Andy Warhol,” who helped found the school, and that “Epstein allowed the board to have meetings at his apartment as well as his office space.”

It also states that “Epstein frequently purchased artwork at the NYAA auctions and sponsored benefit tables” and that “Guggenheim estimated Epstein’s contributions to the NYAA at $5,000-$20,000 per year. Epstein had a patron relationship with Guggenheim’s former babysitter.”

Epstein “left the NYAA in the 1990s,” the document states, after his “main contact with the board,” Stuart Pivar, was not reelected.

In a December 2014 email, Guggenheim apologized to Epstein. “I have forgotten to find an Academy artist for you to paint the entranceway of your house.” In response, Epstein wrote: “the portrait scholarship receivers have been very very lax in follow up. very.”

Guggenheim responded, “Very sorry to hear we somehow dropped the ball on the portrait scholarship.”

Presumably referring to the school’s then-president, David Kratz, she continued, “I have notified David and he has promised to find out what happened and will get back to us.”

Update, February 13: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Kyeong Keun No painted two portraits for Epstein.