The decision by President Joe Biden not to seek reelection could have a significant impact on the value of his son Hunter’s art, according to experts familiar with the art market. With his father no longer relevant in politics, Hunter’s art career, which is seen as another way he tried to profit from his father’s career as a U.S. senator, vice president, and now president, could lose its cachet.
Hunter sold paintings to only ten people for $1.5 million through Georges Bergès Gallery, according to congressional testimony from 2024. One of the buyers, Kevin Morris, Hunter’s Biden’s Hollywood lawyer and sugar brother, bought 11 works for $875,000 in total. Morris also helped Hunter forge a framework to sell art to anonymous buyers through a dealer with ties to the Chinese art market.
The art market is known for corrupt and shady practices, with a 2020 Senate subcommittee report detailing how the art market serves as a vehicle for money laundering. A White House report also detailed the art industry as a “market” where financial crimes occur, but it did not mention the Biden family’s involvement within the market. The White House defended Hunter’s scheme as consistent with the highest ethical standards.
Industry experts say Hunter could retain some interest from art buyers because of his name’s infamy, though his recognition is nowhere near painters such as Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, or Jim Carrey. The value is perhaps not intrinsic to the works themselves,” said Natasha Degen, the chairwoman of art market studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology. There was certainly a disconnect between the price and the critical reception of the work.
There’ll still be collectors for his work,” Adam Thompson, a prominent artist from Miami, told Breitbart News, “because it’s a heck of a conversation piece and some of the paintings aren’t bad. Of course, the price of Hunter’s art will decrease from its ridiculous $500,000 high since virtually the entire market will dry up when there’s no ‘big guy’ around.
Hunter launched his art career after Joe Biden assumed the presidency, but in July, Hunter’s father decided to step aside after pressure from top Democrats appeared to force him into retirement. I think that will hurt the son’s art more than the convictions,” Horne said, speaking about Biden’s departure from the race.
Hunter pleaded guilty in September to tax charges after a Delaware jury previously convicted him of gun crimes. In both cases, his sentencing will be set after the presidential election and before Joe Biden departs the White House in January. Joe Biden promised not to pardon his son, but Joe Biden has not indicated if he will commute Hunter’s sentence.
It remains unclear if Hunter will continue to paint if imprisoned. All I know is that tomorrow I’m going to wake up and find time to make art,” Hunter told the Times. And I will practice my art every day that I am able for the rest of my life, regardless of whether I ever sell another painting.