Bad Reviews For Artist Hunter Biden
Remember when Hunter Biden had his very first art exhibit? It was at the Milk Studios gallery in Hollywood, California on Oct. 1, 2021. Organized by New York gallerist Georges Bergès, there were those who said buyers would only purchase Hunter’s art to win political favors from Joe Biden.
The White House, concerned that talk of cronyism would spread, crafted a plan with Mr. Bergès, or so it was said. The gallerist agreed to keep secret the names of those who purchased Hunter’s art—even Hunter wouldn’t know their identities! Bergès allegedly pledged to reject bids that were higher than the asking price, or were otherwise suspicious.
The Oval Office strategy supposedly would prevent ethical problems with lobbyists and sleazy politicians who wanted to procure favors from good, ol’ Lunchbox Joe from Scranton. The White House distributed news of the plan to media outfits, who assured the public there would be no conflict of interest in the sale of Hunter’s art.
Andrew James Bates, White House Deputy Press Secretary and Special Assistant to Joe Biden, stated definitively: “The president has established the highest ethical standards of any administration in American history, and his family’s commitment to rigorous processes like this is a prime example.”
During a July 22, 2021 press briefing, then White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, said unconvincingly:
“We believe this is a reasonable system that has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within appropriate safeguards, so he’s not going to discuss anything related to the selling of art. I would reiterate that the gallerist will be the only person who handles transactions or conversations in that vein, and will reject any offer that is out of the ordinary.
We won’t know who the buyers are, Hunter Biden won’t know who the buyers are, so I think the origin of this line of questioning, which is understandable, is about whether this would provide a situation for undue influence. But we won’t know who they are, so there’s no scenario where they could provide influence. I think we have set up a system which we feel is appropriate.”
Psaki’s claim that creating art was Hunter’s “profession” was too improbable to be believed, but then, who turns to her for credibility? On the face of it the White House stratagem for the exhibition was absurd, but not as preposterous as what would unfold. Fast-forward to the present.
On Jan. 9, 2024 Georges Bergès conducted a behind closed doors, transcribed interview, with members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. It was there that the gallerist made statements that directly contradicted the White House.
Bergès said he never arranged or agreed upon an ethics plan with the White House regarding the sale of Hunter’s works. Evidently, even as the White House promulgated the lie that such a plan was in place. Bergès also stated that Hunter knew 3 of the buyers who purchased 70% of his works; Kevin Morris, Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, and William Jacques. So much for the anonymity assured by the Biden White House.
Ultimately entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris bought artworks from Hunter worth $875,000 in Jan. 2023. As a sidebar, Internal Revenue Service agent Joseph Ziegler investigated Hunter for tax evasion—Ziegler became an IRS whistleblower who testified before the House Committee on Ways and Means on July 19, 2023. He disclosed that during a three-year period (2020, ‘21, ‘22), Morris gave Hunter $4.9 million for personal expenses.
Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a Los Angeles real estate investor, bought $42,000 worth of Hunter’s art in Feb. 2021, and eight months later, presto, Joe Biden on July 1, 2022 appointed Naftali to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad—it was just a coincidence of course. Another coincidental event occurred in Dec. 2022 when Naftali purchased additional artworks by Hunter for $52,000.
William Jacques is somewhat of an enigma—the media refers to him as the “co-owner” of the Georges Bergès Gallery, but I can’t find any biographical information on the man. At any rate, the mysterious Mr. Jacques reportedly purchased three of Hunter’s paintings for a total of $97,500.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability transcribed its interview with Bergès. In the transcription Bergès said the president’s Son included a proviso in his first contract signed with the Georges Bergès Gallery (that was in Dec. of 2020), that the gallerist was required to disclose the names of buyers to Hunter.
Moreover, Bergès told the House Committee that of the 15 artists he had under contract, only Hunter wanted to know the names of those who purchased his artworks. Bergès told the Committee, “Normally, the gallerist does not let the artist know who the collectors are.”
Soon after Joe Biden found himself in the White House, Hunter renegotiated a second contract with Bergès (that was Sept. 1, 2021) stipulating; “Gallery will not disclose the name of any Buyer(s) of Artist’s Artwork to Artist or any agent of artist.” A copy of that second contract with hand-written notes by Hunter, can be viewed here.
It wasn’t a surprise to learn Bergès suspected Hunter had never sold an artwork before acquiring him as a dealer. Imagine a novice like Hunter, an unskilled rookie when it comes to making and selling art, having artworks at his very first exhibit going for tens of thousands of dollars. C’mon man!
I was startled to learn from the House Committee that Bergès made $1.5 million in sales from Hunter’s artworks, and the dough came from only 10 buyers. A more fitting repudiation of the power-broker’s art world could not be made. Like a voice calling in the wilderness, art critic Robert Hughes said during the opening of his 2008 documentary The Mona Lisa Curse; “Apart from drugs, art is the biggest unregulated market in the world.”
Of that $1.5 million in sales, Bergès received a 40% commission, hence Hunter scooped up around $900,000 for his squiggles. Does that sound right to you? Are you aware that Joe Biden receives the standard annual presidential salary of $400,000 salary as president? The trainee surpasses the Master? Sheesh, these two.
It is inconceivable to me that people purchased Hunter’s amateur doodles because they were convinced he’s an important, exceptionally talented artist. I have too much faith in humanity to accept that rationale. Rather, I believe the elite art buyers of Hunter’s dreck are engaged in “pay to play,” that is, they want access to the Oval Office.
Yes, Hunter made colossal moneymaking deals with businessmen in China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania, and Ukraine, but writ large, he was only following the postmodernist maxim as set forth by Andy Warhol: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art.”
Come to think of it, Georges Bergès fits right in with Hunter’s business dealings with Communist China. In a 2015 interview with Resident, the pretentious “luxury lifestyle magazine,” Bergès jabbered:
“China’s economy is transforming the global economy and everything is changing because of a rising China. But beyond that, what fascinates me is the cultural impact that China is having on the world. How is China affecting the global art community? And that is why I am flying to China again, because I want to further my embrace of the rising China and its undisputable growing influence of contemporary art, and that is why my focus these days is mostly on China.
My plan is to be the lead guy in China; the lead collector and art dealer discovering and nurturing talent from that region. I plan to find and discover and bring to the rest of the world those I consider China’s next generation of modern artists.”
All the same, things aren’t going well for Georges Bergès and Hunter Biden. After making a ton of cash selling Hunter’s art, the House Committee confirmed that Bergès “opted not to” renew his contract with Hunter, letting the agreement expire on Sept. 1, 2023. Bergès kvetched that teaming up with Hunter “hasn’t been the best decision for me.” The gallerist went on to grumble:
“I never expected the whole security issue or the death threats and people assuming political affiliation, which was completely wrong. It was a little bit more than I could chew, obviously I kind of wanted my life back. So I haven’t agreed to renew that contract now.”
As for Hunter. On Dec. 7, 2023 he was indicted on nine tax-related charges. Oh, the vicissitudes of the pleasure seeking millionaire artiste! The indictment said that “rather than pay his taxes, the Defendant spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.”
Furthermore, Hunter faces three felony gun charges that can carry a sentence of 25 years, and up to $750,000 in fines. On Oct. 12, 2018 he illegally purchased from a gun store in Delaware, a Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver, ammunition, and a speedloader to reload the gun. Hunter had to fill out the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System form that all citizens must complete to legally purchase a firearm. He committed a felony by not telling the truth on the NICS form.
Making matters worse, after he bought the gun his then girlfriend Hallie Biden (widow of his late brother Beau), found the unsecured weapon in Hunter’s car; anyone could have stolen it. Hallie snatched the firearm and tossed it in the trash bin of a nearby grocery store. Thereafter Hunter retrieved the .38 from the dumpster. Subsequently the police obtained the gun from Hunter, and it remains in the hands of the authorities.
Hunter was eventually charged with two counts of knowingly making false statements on his NICS form, and a third count of possessing a firearm while addicted to drugs. You can read the federal indictment here.
On Jan. 16, 2024 federal prosecutors revealed that they reexamined the confiscated .38 last year. Chemists from the FBI crime lab verified cocaine residue was found on the leather pouch Hunter stored the revolver in. The prosecution’s statement could not have been more unambiguous: “To be clear, investigators literally found drugs on the pouch where the defendant had kept his gun.”
Video by Hunter Biden. Courtesy of Marco Polo.
It looks like Hunter’s goose is cooked.
We shall see. Those who ordinarily lead the charge on gun control should be demanding that Hunter Biden spend time in prison for his flagrant disregard of federal gun laws and public safety. Fat chance, eh?
I don’t have to tell you that 2023 was a real humdinger. Inflation ate Americans alive, artificial intelligence morphed into a menace, women’s sports were dominated by men, war spread across Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Iran could produce a nuclear bomb in 12 days, WW3 loomed on the horizon, and Joe Biden spent 40% of his presidency on vacation.
By comparison Hunter’s foibles seem irrelevant, yet they are a diminutive piece of a much larger jigsaw puzzle… and that tiny puzzle piece might allow you to see the bigger picture. Huge concerns like Joe Biden giving over $113 billion to Ukraine (he wants $60 billion more for 2024), mustn’t be seen as separate from Hunter’s art swindles. The cronyism and corruption are the same, only the magnitude differs.
But then, as it has been said… the devil is in the details.
