Artist To Ivanka Trump: ‘I Am Embarrassed To Be Seen With You’

Ivanka Trump has received pushback for posting images of her art collection from artists who do not want to be associated with the eldest daughter of the president-elect.

The model-turned-businesswoman has long been known to post photos of herself posing with her impressive art collection to her 2 million followers on Instagram. While this may have been welcomed by the artists, or at least easier to overlook when Trump’s biggest issue was the questionable authenticity of her brand, her father’s political rise has seen her drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.

While the eldest Trump daughter remained relatively silent during her father’s campaign trail, it is perhaps her failure to distance herself from the president-elect and his most divisive policies that have led the world to assume she stands in solidarity with him.

According to Bloomberg, pieces in Trump’s collection such as a “chewing gum” painting by Dan Colen and a “bullet hole” silkscreen by New York artist Nate Lowman have been valued at upwards of $500,000. Trump reportedly works with art advisor Alex Marshall, a common practice for the wealthy looking to grow their collections.

New York City curator Alison Gingeras explains Trump’s involvement in the art community.

“Through her collecting and social appearances, Ivanka Trump belonged to a certain degree to our world.”

Art dealer Bill Powers explains that by repeatedly featuring pieces of her art collection in Instagram posts, Trump is using the art as a “form of branding.” He continues on the impact her father’s political career has had on Trump’s personal brand.

“I think there are a lot of artists that are uncomfortable now being incorporated, or leveraged, as part of the Ivanka Trump brand.”

The Halt Action Group (HAG) has been formed by Gingeras, Powers, and a collection of other art industry insiders with the aim of using Ivanka Trump to influence some of her father’s more divisive policies.

The group have started a campaign called “Dear Ivanka,” which focuses primarily on an Instagram account, pairing photos of Trump with captions appealing to the businesswoman to use her position to take action against the president-elect’s policies. Some areas the campaign has targeted are the president-elect’s anti Islamic policy, healthcare reform, and environmental policies, as well as his stance on contraception.

According to Gingeras, the campaign aims to have Ivanka “answer to some of the hypocrisy she embodies.”

HAG has reportedly reached out to many of the artists featured in Trump’s social media posts, encouraging them to join the campaign and voice their opposition for their art being used to further the Trump brand.

Many of these artists are thought to have participated in a recent protest organized by the campaign outside the Puck building in New York, a property owned by the family of Ivanka Trump’s husband.

One artist, Alex Da Corte, went one step further by commenting on a post of Trump posing with one of his pieces.

“Dear @Ivankatrump please get my work off of your walls. I am embarrassed to be seen with you.”

Trump has found herself a target in recent days by those alienated by her father’s policies. Ivanka was on a Florida-bound JetBlue flight at New York’s JFK Airport Thursday morning when she was accosted by another passenger. According to reports, when the man boarded the plane and saw Ivanka, he became visibly agitated.

“Your father is ruining the country. Why is she on our flight? She should be flying private.”

The passenger in question was reportedly removed from the plane by Trump’s security and rebooked on a later flight.

[Featured Image by John Locher/AP Images]