Hunter Biden’s art venture poses ethical headache for the White House
Hunter Biden has unveiled his first art collection in a New York gallery, which is an impressive feat for someone with no formal artistic training.
With his passion for art previously kept secret from the rest of the world, Hunter has burst onto the scene with his artworks that are attracting mildly favourable reviews, and are anticipated to sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
Despite the early success of Hunter’s collection with the Georges Bergès Gallery, his venture into the art world has posed a series of quandaries for the lawyers of his father, President Joe Biden.
Lawyers were first concerned when there appeared to be no recommended retail price for an original painting.
Instead, a buyer would make an offer and the dealer chooses whether to accept or decline.
So, while President Biden would be unable to accept a briefcase full of a million dollars as a donation, someone would instead be able to offer the same sum for one of his son’s paintings.
Walter Shaub, who headed the Office of Government Ethics under the Obama Administration, was outraged by the younger Biden's venture into art.
"There is no ethics program in the world that can be built around the head of state's staff working with a dealer to keep the public in the dark about the identities of individuals who pay vast sums to the leader's family member for subjectively priced items of no intrinsic value," he tweeted.
"If this were Trump, Xi or Putin, you'd have no doubt whatsoever that this creates a vehicle for funnelling cash to the first family in exchange for access or favours."
However, thanks to the White House’s new ethics rules, if someone offers a suspiciously high figure for a painting, Hunter’s art dealer Georges Bergès will turn down the offer.
On top of this, Georges would keep the identity of any buyer secret from Hunter Biden or the White House.
Mr Bergès told Artnet News that he expected some of Mr Biden's pieces to sell for as much as half a million dollars, and although Hunter has agreed to abide by the White House ethics rules, he is not legally bound to them.
Image credits: Georges Bergès Gallery