Supreme Court Artist Markets with 'Flair and Flattery'
Some of the country’s top lawyers have purchased drawing of themselves making oral arguments in the Supreme Court, but the drawings are apparently done after the fact.
The artist, Todd Crespi, “markets his work with flair and flattery,” the New York Times reports. Recently he wrote to Florida Solicitor General Scott Makar telling him he was impressed with his recent argument in a death penalty case. “Once more, I started an impressive painting of the historic occasion,” Crespi wrote.
Makar declined the offer. He told the Times that some lawyers may not be aware that Crespi isn’t making the drawings in the courtroom. Indeed, Crespi hasn’t had Supreme Court press credentials in years, the story says. Other artists told the newspaper they haven’t seen him for years in the alcove reserved for artists.
But Crespi, who formerly did courtroom sketches for CNN, still manages to sell his paintings of lawyers in the courtroom. Lisa Blatt, a lawyer with Arnold & Porter, told the Times her husband bought a painting for her. “It’s one of his stock pictures where he paints the advocate after the fact,” Blatt told the Times in an e-mail.
Crespi told the New York Times he “almost always” attends oral arguments, sitting with the general public where drawing is not allowed. He also denied using a standard background. “There is original drawing on every quadrant and every square inch,” he told the newspaper.
Lawyers say the cost of a Crespi is about $1,200 for a basic painting and $1,600 for one that includes a lawyer’s family members in the audience, the story says.
