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# Kanye Gives Kim Kardashian a George Condo-Painted Hermès Birkin Bag
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/kanye-gives-kim-kardashian-a-george-condo-painted-hermes-birkin-bag/
- Published: 2013-12-27T17:26:33.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:17:34.000Z
- Description: Kanye has had a longstanding relationship with artist George Condo, but their latest "collaboration" came in the form of a gift for Kim Kardashian — a hand-painted Hermès Birkin bag.
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: Opinion, George Condo, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 06:59 (2012, 2013, part 2)

![Kim Kardashian Instagrammed her Condo-painted Berkin late yesterday with the following hashtag-filled caption: "#HandPaintedGeorgeCondo #HermesBirkin #OneofOne #ChristmasPresentFromYeezy" (via Kim Kardasian's Instagram)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2013/12/screen-shot-2013-12-27-at-11-34-05-am.png)

Kim Kardashian posted an image of her Condo-painted Birkin late yesterday with the following hashtag-filled caption: “#HandPaintedGeorgeCondo #HermesBirkin #OneofOne #ChristmasPresentFromYeezy” (via Kim Kardasian’s Instagram)

Kanye has had a longstanding relationship with artist George Condo, who painted the image that appeared on the cover of the pop singer’s 2010 album [*My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy*](http://hyperallergic.com/11087/kanye-condo-album-cover/), but their latest “collaboration” came in the form of a gift for Kim Kardashian — a hand-painted Hermès Birkin bag.

![Condo's cover for Kanye's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2013/12/kanyecover-320.jpg)

Condo’s cover for Kanye’s 2010 album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”

Birkins, which retail for anywhere from $7,400 to $150,000, are one of contemporary pop culture’s symbols of wealth, often associated with celebrities. *New York Magazine*’s [The Cut](http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/12/kanye-gave-kim-kuestionable-birkin-for-khristmas.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) blog estimates that Condo’s “canvas” for Kardashian probably cost $40,000.

If you don’t know the scale of a Birkin, take a look at this [pic](http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/kim-kardashian-birkin-bag-nude-paintings-kanye-west-pictures-20132712?ref=hyperallergic.com) to see the big-ass (pardon the pun) bag. No word on how much Kanye paid Condo for the work.

![A typical Judgement of Paris composition by Joseph Hauber, "The Judgement of Paris" (1819) (via Wikipedia)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2013/12/735px-joseph_hauber_das_urteil_d_paris_640.jpg)

A typical Judgement of Paris composition by Joseph Hauber, “The Judgement of Paris” (1819) (via Wikipedia)

Judging by [Kanye’s ego](https://hyperallergic.com/kanye-compares-himself-to-michelangelo-marina-thinks-hes-more-relevant-than-obama/), I’m going to guess that the person on the left with the green mask is Kanye, while the three Kardashian sisters appear on the right. I think the composition alludes to the [Judgement of Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgement%5Fof%5FParis?ref=hyperallergic.com), where Kanye is playing the role of the Greek mythological figure who’s given the task of choosing the most lovely female goddess ([Hera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera?ref=hyperallergic.com), [Athena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena?ref=hyperallergic.com), and [Aphrodite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite?ref=hyperallergic.com) vied for the golden apple that Paris was to bestow on to the winner). No sign of the apple, though, only a glass of wine — which seems fitting since I’d probably need to be drunk to judge or take part in such a contest. The story is a popular one in the history of Western art, and here we see what looks like a version of it on a Birkin. My guess is that Kim Kardashian is the second figure from the right, and her face is the only one not distorted in a characteristically Condo way — it seems obvious who the winner of this “beauty pageant” is.

Judging by Kardashian’s Instagram post, the bag doesn’t seem popular with her demographic, as [comments](http://instagram.com/p/iaDXxZuS81/?ref=hyperallergic.com) like “horrible” and “Holy shitballs. That is ugly.” dominate the feed.