Hunter Biden is set to resume selling paintings to anonymous buyers in New York City this week — despite an ongoing House investigation into the novice painter’s art sales.
Hunter’s art will be featured at a New York art exhibition beside famous abstract painters on Thursday. The event will be held at Hunter’s art dealer’s gallery, the Georges Bergès Gallery in Soho. Some of the art to be featured alongside Hunter’s includes works by renowned artists Elaine de Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler.
The president’s son is scheduled to attend the exhibition to promote his work, the New York Post reported.
In total, Hunter has sold about 12 paintings for less than his asking price of $500,000, according to the Washington Post. It is unclear how much money Hunter has made from his art, but estimates suggest he has earned at least five times more than the average American artist — all while being a novice painter.
Adam Thompson, a prominent artist from Miami, told Breitbart News that Hunter should donate proceeds of any anonymous art sales to charity and not to President Joe Biden.
Buyers of Hunter Biden's artwork, which will be featured in an exhibition in New York later this year, will remain anonymous, sparking pay-for-play concerns. https://t.co/0lr3A26YLQ
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 17, 2021
“I hope Hunter Biden has some at least some self-awareness of how his work got where it is — and I hope he’ll think about kicking some of it back to some school art programs and not just to “the big guy,” he said.
The anonymous art sales have raised concerns about who might be buying his art and why. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) told Breitbart News in November he is 95 percent sure Hunter’s sold artwork has found its way to China, potentially compromising the president.
Comer has requested Hunter’s art dealer Georges Bergès to cooperate with his investigation. Bergès, an art dealer with ties to the Chinese art market, has stonewalled House investigators about who has bought Hunter’s art.
Along with Comer’s concern, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) questioned on Friday if Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating Hunter’s shady art deals.
“Is Alvin Bragg looking into Hunter Biden’s art sales and business records in New York City?” Jordan asked on Twitter Friday. “Outrageous.”
So a Hunter Biden "painting" costs up to $500,000.00, but a painting by a legendary rockstar goes for just $90,000? https://t.co/SIMOVDgE9Q
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 27, 2021
The art industry is known for corruption. In 2020, a Senate subcommittee report detailed how the art market serves as a vehicle for money laundering:
The art industry is considered the largest, legal unregulated industry in the United States. Unlike financial institutions, the art industry is not subject to Bank Secrecy Act’s (“BSA”) requirements, which mandate detailed procedures to prevent money laundering and to verify a customer’s identity. While the BSA does not apply to art transactions by art dealers and auction houses, sanctions do. No U.S. person or entity is allowed to do business with a sanctioned individual or entity.
Hunter and the White House have resolutely supported the anonymous sales to buyers who could be American advisories.
“We were very transparent about what recommendations were made to the gallerist,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied when asked about the lack of transparency. “I would point you to the gallerist on specifics of the restrictions that were put in place.”
The president’s 53-year-old son has remained defiant toward his critics, responding “f*ck’em” when asked how he would respond to them.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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