Pop Culture
Kim Kardashian’s Surprisingly Wild History With the Art World
From a dispute with Donald Judd’s estate to an auction battle against Tom Brady—here are Kardashian’s craziest outings in the art world.
Tim Brinkhof
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Most people wouldn’t associate Kim Kardashian with fine art. Entertainment, fashion, skincare—yes. But art?
Well, think again. Over the course of becoming one of the biggest media personalities on the planet, Kardashian has worked alongside and come into contact with numerous artists, from fashion photographers who turn her into the centerpiece of their latest shoots to painters who designed albums for her ex-husband, Kanye West.
Kardashian has also used her vast wealth—estimated at $1.7 billion by Forbes—to snap up sought-after art at auctions, including a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a pendant worn by Princess Diana of Wales.
Last but not least, Kardashian has been involved in her fair share of art-related controversies and scandals. Whether she’s starring on magazine covers alongside Tesla Cybertrucks, passing off fake designer furniture for the real deal, or merely sharing oil paintings by her daughter North, she often finds herself the center of the internet’s attention.
Kim Kardashian’s Tesla Photoshoot Sparks Outrage. Surprisingly, That Might Actually Matter
Screenshot of Elon Musk reposting Kim Kardashian’s Tesla-themed ‘Perfect’ photoshoot.
Tasteless and inopportune—that was the consensus on Kim Kardashian’s shoot for independent fashion magazine Perfect, which saw her pose on top of one of Tesla’s new Cybertrucks.
Tasteless, because the pictures, snapped by photographer Steven Klein, amount to little more than product placement. Inopportune, because they were released in the midst of the “Tesla Takedown” movement, a global response to CEO Elon Musk’s role in Donald Trump’s second administration.
Kardashian’s Instagram account performed minor damage control in the wake of the backlash, deleting comments critical of the shoot. “Never buying skims again,” one of these comments read. “I’m kinda sick to my stomach rn.”
Was Kim Kardashian the Mystery Buyer of This $5 Million Basquiat?
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Both Poles (1982). Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd.
In 2017, Christie’s auctioned off Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 painting Both Poles for roughly $5 million. The buyer remained anonymous, but eagle-eyed Instagram users came to believe it may be Kim Kardashian.
While snippets of the artwork, which shows a pickaxe and a TV pylon, had shown up in some of the TV and internet personality’s posts, the truth wasn’t confirmed until the 2024 release of the musical film Wicked.
The Kardashian clan hosted a pre-screening party at Kim’s house, and pictures of the sleepover-themed event, posted on her mother Kris Jenner’s Instagram account, at last revealed Both Poles, hanging in the background in all its glory.
Why the Donald Judd Foundation Is Suing Kim Kardashian
The reality television star Kim Kardashian is facing a lawsuit after she falsely claimed that her tables were authentic works by the late minimalist artist Donald Judd. Photo courtesy of court documents.
In 2022, Kim Kardashian uploaded a video on her personal YouTube channel in which she toured the Los Angeles office of her skincare brand SKKN.
In the video, she showed off several pieces of furniture, including a “Rick Owens bed” by the designer’s wife, Michele Lamy, art from ex-husband Kanye West’s frequent collaborator Vanessa Beecroft, and two “Donald Judd tables” which were “really amazing and totally blend in with the seats.” That last item caused quite the storm.
The Judd Foundation, which preserves the artist’s legacy, said that the tables were fakes, and in 2024 filed a lawsuit against both Kardashian and the firm which fabricated and sold them. The lawsuit was filed after private negotiations between the parties fell through.
Kim Kardashian holds up a paddle to bid on George Condo’s Standing Female Figure (2023), mixed-media on paper, shown at right. Photo on left by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for REFORM Alliance.
In 2023, Kim Kardashian and former football player Tom Brady duked it out at a charity auction in Atlantic City. The item in question was Standing Female Figure, a mixed-media piece by George Condo—the same Condo who designed the cover for Kardashian’s ex-husband Kanye West’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Standing Female Figure, which had an asking price of $500,000, ended up being sold to Brady for $2 million. Fortunately for Kardashian, Condo offered to create a second, matching work for the same price—well below the artist’s $7 million record.
Diana, Princess Of Wales, arriving at a Birthright gala in October 1987 wearing an evening dress by Catherine Walker with a crucifix pendant by Garrard. Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images.
A representative of Kim Kardashian snatched up the Attallah Cross pendant at a 2023 Sotheby’s auction in London for £163,800 ($197,400). The pendant, which far exceeded its £80,000–£120,000 ($106,000–$160,000) asking price, was among the most impressive items at the event, which also saw the sale of a rare 16th-century Flemish tapestry.
The pendant, set with amethysts in a gold and silver frame and accented by rounded diamonds that weigh a combined 5.25 carats. Measuring roughly 5.35 by 3.74 inches, it was created in the 1920s by Garrard & Co, the official jeweler of the British Royal Family, for an unnamed client. Its previous (and most famous) owner was none other than Princess Diana of Wales, who wore it to a 1987 gala dedicated to the women’s health organization Birthright.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson attended the 2022 Met Gala. She controversially wore Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress—the most expensive dress ever sold at auction. Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan.
Kim Kardashian swept up controversy when she attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s yearly Costume Institute Gala in 2022 in a dress that had originally belonged to actress Marilyn Monroe.
Monroe wore the beige-colored, rhinestone-covered dress at a fundraising event at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1962, where she famously sang “Happy Birthday” to then-president John F. Kennedy. The dress, which originally cost $1,440, increased in value after Monroe’s early death, selling for $4.8 million at a 2016 Los Angeles Auction.
Following her appearance at the gala, Kardashian—as well as the dress’ current owner, the novelty museum franchise Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!—was met with criticism from media outlets, fashion historians, art conservators, and the general public for potentially endangering the one-of-a-kind garment.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West in 2016 in New York City. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Harper’s Bazaar.
In 2021, Kim Kardashian was in for a surprise when she learned that a U.S. court ordered her to forfeit an ancient Roman statue she had allegedly been in the process of acquiring.
Kardashian, however, didn’t know about the statue—a draped figure, presumably a copy after an original Greek work finished during the 1st or 2nd century C.E.—with one of her representatives telling Artnet News they she had “never seen” it before.
The influencer wasn’t lying. Shortly after the court order went public, TMZ reported that it was Kanye West, her then-husband, who was behind the acquisition, which arrived in the U.S. alongside other antiques in 2016.
Why Are People on the Internet So Upset About Kim Kardashian’s Daughter’s Art? Allow Us to Explain
Kim Kardashian and daughter North West in Inglewood, California, 2017. Photo: Rich Fury / Forum Photos via Getty Images.
In 2021, Kim Kardashian caused stir on social media for… sharing a painting by her then seven-year-old daughter North. The painting was uncontroversial—a well-executed landscape, signed “North :)” in the bottom right corner.
For some social media users, however, the painting appeared a little too well-executed for someone of North’s age, showcasing an understanding of color and perspective on par with someone who spent years following along with Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting. Some also questioned whether the signature had been digitally added.
Kardashian and her friend Tracy Romulus jumped to North’s defense, with the former explaining that her daughter had been taking “serious” oil painting classes that helped cultivate her evident talents.
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