Hunter Biden has been accused of “arrogance” for making an unusual deal with a Manhattan art dealer in which he would tell people who bought his paintings and for what price.
The contract between the eldest son and dealer Georges Berges was signed in October 2020.
According to Republican lawmakers investigating his eldest son's business dealings, Biden reportedly asked for a clause that would require galleries to provide artists with a quarterly list of the names and prices of buyers of their works. ing.
And the system was still in effect as of July 2021, when the White House signed an agreement with the Manhattan gallery to ensure buyers remained anonymous to prevent influence peddling. He claimed that.
The language of the contract was revealed by Burgess in closed-door testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week as part of an investigation into the Biden family's business practices.
He also said that the president's son, 53, owns about 70% of the president's artwork, including that the purchaser was Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali, who acquired the eldest son's work before and after his prestigious inauguration. He told the commission he knew the person who made the purchase.
Biden also knew that other works were being purchased by his “sugar brother,” Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris. Morris purchased the $875,000 painting and also paid off his eldest son's $2 million federal tax bill.
It's not unusual for established artists to request to know the identity of their buyers, but most emerging artists' contracts do not include such clauses, according to art dealers contacted by the Post. That's what it means.
The president's son is a self-taught artist who began painting after a career in law and lobbying collapsed.
“It's really arrogant,” said Stefan Simchowitz, a Los Angeles-based gallerist who has been selling art for 17 years.
“I don't understand why that clause would be included in his contract. It's absurd.
“The artists we actually commission are usually well-established artists, not emerging artists like Hunter who are selling sleazy art.”
The revelation of the clause naming Biden's buyers calls into question the White House's statement in 2021 that Biden's artwork was on sale for up to $500,000 each.
July 8, 2021, White House Source explained to the Washington Post Thanks to an ethics agreement brokered between the Berges gallery and the president, Biden will not set the price or know the identity of the buyer. Biden administration.
At a press conference on July 9, 2021, then-press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the Washington Post report, saying: “Gallerists do not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities, with Hunter Biden or the government. Level of protection and transparency.”
Two weeks later, on July 22, Psaki doubled down on her claims. Asked why the White House wouldn't release the names of the buyers, he added: “We don't know who they are, so there's no scenario where they would have any influence.”
The newspaper has learned that Biden asked Burgess to remove a clause requiring the name of the buyer from the September 2021 contract after Psaki claimed the buyer was unknown.
A month later, in October 2021, Psaki claimed in another press conference that the White House did not know the identity of the buyer of her eldest son's art.
“That's still the prerogative of the gallerists. We don't know yet and never will know who will buy the paintings. And the president is proud of his son,” Psaki said.
Then she stopped the question and said, “Did you have any other questions?”
It is unclear whether Psaki was aware of the 2020 agreement between Biden and Berges.
Neither Psaki nor the White House responded to several requests for comment from The Post. Mr. Biden's lawyer, Abby Rowell, did not respond to a request for comment.
“The White House did not put in place any safeguards, but it misled the American people into thinking they did,” a source close to the House investigation told the Post.
Biden, a recovering drug addict, is the author of the 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” which chronicles his struggles with alcohol, drugs and sex.
He is accused of trying to sell access to his father to a foreign businessman, some of which was detailed in emails and texts found on his laptop, the Post reported. revealed exclusively in 2020.
President Joe Biden has denied profiting from his son's dealings.
