The White House wants to prevent Hunter Biden from finding out who buys his art

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Hunter Biden is expected to sell some of his artwork this fall for up to $500,000 — but he may never know who’s buying it.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that White House officials have in recent months been working on an ethical plan that would protect the identities of those who made their bids for the president’s son’s artwork.

This plan, criticized by ethicists, aims to prevent a wealthy person from identifying with Hunter or his powerful family by paying a large sum for paintings that are difficult to value.

The newspaper reported that the arrangement, details of which the White House has not confirmed in records, is designed to allow Hunter Biden – a former lawyer who struggled with addiction – to pursue a new career in art. At the same time, President Joe Biden has committed to upholding stricter barriers between family and government than under his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

“The president has set the highest ethical standards of any administration in American history, and his family’s commitment to stringent measures like this is a perfect example of that,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

According to the Post, prices for Hunter’s artwork will be set by New York Gallery owner George Burgess. Burgess previously said Hunter Biden’s artwork ranged in value from $75,000 for works on paper to $500,000 for his larger paintings.

Citing anonymous people familiar with the arrangement, the newspaper reported that Berg would reject offers that are suspicious or above the asking price. The newspaper quoted a person who initially knew he was calling from the Berges Gallery as saying the operation “was not unusual”. This person later declined to be named.

Hunter Biden’s abstract art has received mixed reviews. In June, the New York Post, which has been critical of Hunter Biden, published a story entitled: “Hunter Biden’s artwork is really good and will be worth a lot, experts say.”

Mark Tribe, chair of the fine arts department at the College of Fine Arts in New York City, told the newspaper that Hunter Biden’s work has been “very powerful.”

“The cute, organic colors and shapes—it’s the kind of organic abstraction that I find soothing to the eyes and pique your curiosity,” Tribb said.

But Jeffrey Cudlin, professor of art at the Maryland Institute of Art, told the conservative Washington Examiner that Hunter Biden paintings shouldn’t cost more than $3,000, the kind of art “to hang on someone’s sofa.”

“If Hunter Biden were to apply to school for a BFA in painting, I think a portfolio with these pieces would indicate some sense of the medium, some emerging talent, and encourage anyone who’s reviewing it with a little training and a little bit of study that might make Biden one day,” Cudlin said. Some interesting paintings.

The moral order is the latest headache for Hunter Biden, who has faced years of accusations that he improperly profited from his father’s position, for the White House.

Last month, the Daily Mail published photos allegedly taken from Hunter Biden’s laptop that raised questions about whether his father helped him with his overseas business dealings when he was vice president. The White House denied that Joe Biden had discussed foreign trade matters with his son. Hunter Biden is also facing a federal investigation into his tax affairs.

While the White House is apparently struggling to create a conflict-free way for Hunter Biden to sell his artwork, the deal has reportedly been criticized by experts.

Walter Schaub, a prominent ethics attorney who served as director of the Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to 2017, wrote in a lengthy Twitter thread that the sale of Hunter Biden’s artwork was “extremely disappointing.”

“Instead of revealing who is making outrageous payments for Hunter Biden’s artwork so we can monitor whether buyers gain access to the government, WH tried to make sure we would never know who they were,” Schaub wrote.

“The idea is that even Hunter wouldn’t know it, but WH assigned government ethics to a private art dealer,” added Schaub. “We’re supposed to trust a dealer in an industry that’s a breeding ground for money laundering, as well as anonymous buyers who can tell Hunter officials or WH? No thanks.”

Norm Eisen, a lawyer who served as an ethics advisor to former President Barack Obama, was more sympathetic. Eisen told the newspaper that “the basic assumption is that adult children are able to make a living,” although he emphasized that there should be a great distance between the sale and the White House.

“This means that things like the White House shouldn’t promote an art show, which they don’t to my knowledge,” Eisen told the newspaper.

While Hunter Biden kept a low profile during his father’s presidential campaign, Trump often sought to use his checkered past and fight drug and alcohol addiction against his political father. Trump was impeached in 2019 after he sought to get the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden. He was acquitted in 2020.

Hunter Biden’s emerging artistic career comes as he sought to take on a larger public role. Earlier this year, he published a memoir called “Beautiful Things” that the New York Times described as “an equal family tale, a tale of addictive grief and howl.” Despite slow sales, Hunter Biden said he is working on a sequel to his memoir.

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