Art Critic and Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi called into question Hunter Biden’s art career Tuesday, saying it “raises obvious ethical issues for his father” and the administration.
Mahdawi believes Hunter’s “hobby has turned serious” due to the nature of selling “colourful creations” for $500,000 to anonymous investors:
It looks like the prodigal son is a painter now. Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s child, has apparently been dabbling with paints for years. Now his hobby has turned serious: starting soon, you can pick up one of his colourful creations from a gallery in New York’s SoHo. It will cost you, though: the pieces are reportedly priced between $75,000 and $500,000.
Mahdawi questioned who exactly buys artwork for such a large amount of money without being a “critically acclaimed” artist, which raises “obvious ethical issues for his father… and Biden administration.”
“Hunter’s new career raises obvious ethical issues for his father and, in an attempt to avoid accusations of influence peddling, the Biden administration has asked the gallerist to keep all information about the buyers and prices of Hunter’s work confidential,” she wrote. “The gallery has also agreed to reject offers that seem suspiciously generous.”
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on July 22 labeled Hunter’s “anonymous” art selling scheme as “reasonable.”
“Will he get ethics training, will he have to report afterwards about the conversations — anything specific you can tell us about you are monitoring” the sale of art, a reporter asked.
Psaki regurgitated a frequent answer, ignoring the reporter’s direct question by suggesting Hunter “is not involved in the sale or discussions about the sale of his art,” and that Hunter will not be “informed” of “who is purchasing his art.”
Breitbart News senior contributor and Profiles in Corruption author Peter Schweizer told Breitbart News the “anonymous” proposal is an utterly “absurd” solution.
“The only way to address these issues is with greater transparency–not less,” said Schweizer. “Their proposed solution is greater secrecy, not transparency. And they are essentially saying ‘Trust Us.’ Joe and Hunter Biden’s track record on such matters gives us no reason to trust them.”
Hunter Biden on July 29 responded to his artwork critics by suggesting selling art for $500,000 to anonymous investors is a “pretty courageous thing to do.”
“Fuck em… Look man,” Hunter Biden said on the Nota Bene Podcast, “I never said my art was going to cost what it was going to cost, or how much it would be priced at. I would be amazed, you know, if my art was sold, for you know, for, umm, for ten dollars.”
“I’m [the] most famous artist in MAGA world, at least,” Hunter facetiously explained before suggesting President Joe Biden thinks “everything” Hunter does “should be in National Gallery” of Art.
Indeed, first lady Jill Biden is displaying Hunter’s art in her taxpayer funded White House office.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.