Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, has reached a deal with the White House that will allow him to sell his artwork for tens of thousands of dollars without knowing who the buyer is. The agreement was reached in an attempt to sidestep any potential ethical difficulties surrounding his sales. A private art gallery owner will establish pricing for his work and handle all bidding and sales within the terms of the agreement, but Hunter or anyone in the administration will not be given any information about purchasers or prospective buyers. The Washington Post was the first to report on the arrangement.
The gallerist would reject “any offer out of the ordinary,” according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and the administration feels the arrangement “provides quite a level of protection and transparency.” According to a source acquainted with the agreement, the art dealer selling Hunter’s piece is obligated to reject any unusual buyer or offer, even any that exceeds the asking price. The source talked on the condition of anonymity because he or she was not permitted to disclose the arrangement publicly.
“After much thought, a framework has been devised that allows Hunter Biden to practice his profession while maintaining adequate safeguards,” says the statement. Psaki told the reporters. “Of course he has the right to pursue an artistic career, just as any president’s child does.”
It’s one of the first high-profile tests of Trump’s commitment to stricter ethics regulations for his family and administration officials than his predecessor, Donald Trump, who had a daughter and son-in-law working for him in the White House and frequently spent federal money on his own properties. Hunter’s private dealings have drawn scrutiny in the past, with some critics expressing concerns that he sought to profit from the use of his father’s name during his lobbying work and work with a Ukrainian energy company.
Biden signed an executive order requiring stricter ethics commitments from all administration personnel on his first day as president, but Hunter’s private dealings have drawn scrutiny in the past, with some critics expressing concerns that he sought to profit from the use of his father’s name during his lobbying.
Hunter Biden has now turned his attention to the realm of art. According to an interview with Artnet, Georges Bergès, the art dealer who will sell his work, is planning a private viewing for the president’s son in Los Angeles and a show in New York. According to the dealer, the paintings range in price from $75,000 for a work on paper to half a million dollars for large-scale paintings. That’s a lot more money than a typical up-and-coming artist with little experience or sales, which is one of the reasons Richard Painter, a White House ethics counsel under the George W. Bush administration, is concerned about the deal.