Hunter Biden has been branded “arrogant” for making an extraordinary deal with his Manhattan art dealer to tell him who bought his paintings and for how much.
The contract for the first child with the dealer Georges Berges was signed in October 2020.
Biden demanded the provision that said, in part, “the gallery will give artists a list of the names of purchasers of works with prices… quarterly,” Republican lawmakers investigating the first son’s business dealings were told.
And it was still in effect in July 2021, when the White House insisted it had an agreement with the Manhattan gallery to ensure buyers would remain anonymous to avoid any influence peddling.
The wording of the contract was revealed by Berges in closed-door testimony given under oath before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week as part of its investigation into the Biden family’s business practices.
He also told the committee that the president’s son, 53, knew who bought about 70% of his art, including that Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who obtained works from the first son before and after landing a prestigious presidential appointment, was a buyer.
Biden also knew that other works were purchased by his “sugar brother,” Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who bought $875,000 worth of paintings and also advanced the cash for the first son’s $2 million federal tax bill.
Hunter Biden insisted on knowing the identity of the buyers of his art in a contract he signed with Georges Berges, precisely the opposite of what the White House claimed. New York Post Biden has sold his art for up to $500,000 through the Georges Berges gallery in Manhattan, interacting with potential buyers. It is now revealed that he insisted on knowing exactly who bought his works. Stephen Yang
Art dealers contacted by The Post said that while it is not unusual for well-established artists to demand to know the identity of their buyers, most contracts for emerging artists do not contain such a clause.
The president’s son is a self-taught artist who began painting after his legal and lobbying career imploded.
“It’s really arrogant,” said Stefan Simchowitz, a Los Angeles-based gallerist who has sold art for 17 years.
Hunter Biden has sold much of his art to his friend Kevin Morris (left), who paid the IRS $2 million on behalf of the first son. Morris appeared last week with Biden and the lawyer for his first child, Abbe Lowell, at a congressional hearing. Getty Images Another buyer of works whose name Biden knew was Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who bought paintings before and after her presidential nomination.
“I don’t understand why that clause would be in his contract. It’s stupid.
“The artists who apply for it are usually well established, not an emerging artist like Hunter selling his shitty art.”
The disclosure of a clause providing the names of Biden’s buyers raises questions about the White House’s statements in 2021, when his art went on sale for up to $500,000 each.
On July 8, 2021, White House sources informed the Washington Post that Biden would not set prices or know the identities of his buyers thanks to an ethical agreement negotiated between Berges’ gallery and President Biden’s administration.
Hunter Biden attends the opening of his exhibition at Georges Berges Gallery in 2022. When he signed with the gallery two years earlier, he insisted on knowing the identity of his buyers and maintained the clause for almost a year. Stephen Yang This colorful painting, which resembles an Aztec god, is among Biden’s latest works. Georges Berges remained his agent and posted it on his Instagram account, but last week he told Congress that he would no longer act on behalf of the first son.
In a press conference on July 9, 2021, then-press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the Washington Post report and said: “The gallerist will not share information about buyers or potential buyers, including their identities, with Hunter Biden or administration, which provides a fairly high level of protection and transparency.”
Two weeks later, on July 22, Psaki doubled down on that claim. Asked why the White House wouldn’t just reveal the names of the buyers, he added: “We won’t know who they are, so there’s no scenario where they can exert influence.”
The Post has learned that Biden asked Berges to remove the clause requiring the names of buyers from his contract in September 2021, after Psaki’s claims that she would not know the buyers.
A combative Jen Psaki shut down questions about the first child’s arrangements with her gallery in October 2021 after repeating claims that he did not know the buyers. What she said was the opposite of what Biden had insisted on in her contract: that he be informed of the identities of her buyers. fake images
A month later, in October 2021, Psaki insisted in another press conference that the White House did not know the identities of the buyers of her first son’s art.
“It is still the responsibility of the gallery owner. We still do not know and will not know who buys the paintings. And the president remains proud of his son,” Psaki said.
Then he cut off the line of questioning and said, “Did you have another question about something else?”
It is unclear whether Psaki knew the contents of the 2020 agreement between Biden and Berges.
Neither Psaki nor the White House responded to the Post’s multiple requests for comment. A request for comment from Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, was not returned.
Biden and his second wife, Melissa Cohen, leave the Georges Berges gallery after one of its exhibitions in 2021, followed by Morris, his “sugar brother,” who bought much of the art. Biden’s contract to know the names was described as “arrogant.” Stephen Yang
A source close to the House investigation told The Post: “The White House did not put in place any safeguards but misled the American people into believing that it did.”
Biden, a recovering drug addict, is the author of “Beautiful Things,” a 2021 memoir in which he chronicles his struggles with alcohol, drugs and sex.
He has been accused of trying to sell access to his father to foreign businessmen, and some of those deals are detailed in emails and text messages found on his laptop, The Post exclusively revealed in 2020.
President Biden has denied benefiting from his son’s dealings.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn