A US museum has cast doubt on a claim by President Donald Trump that he owns an original Renoir painting, saying the authentic work has been in its collection for more than eight decades.
The Art Institute of Chicago said the real painting, Two Sisters (On The Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, has been on display there since 1933. A museum spokeswoman, Amanda Hicks, confirmed the institution had held the authentic piece for 80 years and welcomed 1.5 million visitors each year to see it.
The painting was donated in 1933 after being bought for $100,000 from an art dealer who had acquired it directly from the French Impressionist in 1881. Meanwhile, biographer Tim O'Brien has said Mr Trump repeatedly insisted his version was genuine. During a flight on Mr Trump's private jet while researching his 2005 book, Mr O'Brien said he spotted the work and asked about it.
Mr O'Brien told Vanity Fair's Hive podcast that Mr Trump said: "You know, that's an original Renoir." The author said he responded: "Donald, it's not. I grew up in Chicago, that Renoir is called Two Sisters on the Terrace, and it's hanging on a wall at the Art Institute of Chicago." The artwork later appeared in the background of a CBS 60 Minutes interview at Trump Tower, according to Mr O'Brien.
Mr Trump previously sued Mr O'Brien for $5bn after the author wrote in TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald that the businessman's net worth was as low as $150m, far below billionaire status.
