Torts

Pop Art: The Value of Hunter Biden’s Art Expected to Collapse With the End of his Father’s Influence

We have previously discussed the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s art sales. Many viewed the art as another avenue for political allies to funnel money to the Bidens. That was reinforced when it was discovered that the lucrative sales heralded by Hunter’s allies were found to have been largely the results of purchases by his “sugar bro” Kevin Morris. Now, experts say that whatever value is left in Hunter’s art will likely collapse with his father’s departure — the clearest indicator of the actual value of the art for “investors.” Hunter’s art appears to be moving from an impressionistic to a harsh realism period.

Georges Bergès, Hunter Biden’s art gallerist, contradicted claims of the White House on the handling of the art. Hunter reportedly knew who purchased roughly 70% of the value of his art, including Democrat donors Morris and Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali.

While Biden allies hyped the sales to show that Hunter was a legitimate artist, Bergès admitted that Morris actually purchased most of the art. Morris has reportedly given Hunter millions to cover unpaid taxes and expenses. Hunter only sold paintings to ten people for $1.5 million, according to congressional testimony from 2024. Morris bought 11 works for $875,000 in total.

The drop in the value of art reflects not the volatile art market but the fluctuating influence peddling market. The Bidens are finally cashing out of Washington.

In the meantime, Hunter is facing a bizarre claim from one of his debt holders that, in return for allegedly walking out on over a year of rent, Hunter sent him art made with his own feces to sell. Shaun Maguire claims that Hunter rented his $4.25 million home in California in 2019. When Hunter’s lawyers denied the story, he posted pictures on social media.

Without getting into the merits of this claim, the question is whether Hunter will sue for defamation. I was previously threatened with a defamation lawsuit for discussing the scandal involving Morris. I continued to write about the allegations (and the threat of a lawsuit) but was never sued. It was an example of the scorched Earth approach of the Hunter team. This is such a bizarre story that it is hard to imagine that it could be true. Conversely, Maguire must have known of the litigious reputation of the Biden team when he decided to go public with this claim.

If this story is untrue, it could constitute defamation per se as a statement that impugns his professional and business reputation. A simple testing of the art would tend to establish the truth of the matter. However, there is no indication of any demand for a retraction or notice to sue. Hunter generally has two years for such a lawsuit, but California has a shorter one-year period.

In the meantime, Hunter has pledged to continue to do his art after his father granted him a sweeping pardon for any crimes committed in the last ten years. Given his past excessive spending on a lavish lifestyle, the art alone does not appear to be a viable source of income. However, Morris has helped create a new movie based on his life. Hunter reportedly celebrated the pardon by watching an early showing of the film.

In the end, Hunter’s work may be the ultimate Pop art, work that only holds value so long as Pop is in power.

Of course, if Nietzsche was right that “the essence of all beautiful art…is gratitude,” Hunter has much to be grateful for. For past and prospective buyers, perhaps less so.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

132 thoughts on “Pop Art: The Value of Hunter Biden’s Art Expected to Collapse With the End of his Father’s Influence”

  1. Jonathan: Eighty-three years ago today Pearl Harbor was viciously attacked by the Japanese imperialists. A lot of ships were sunk and many US servicemen and women lost their lives. Right now DJT is doing what the warlords of Japan couldn’t do. He is in the process of “sinking” our Democracy–piece by piece. DJT’s picks for various Cabinet positions indicates what he has in mind. But strangely it is the Senate Republicans who are pushing back on DJT’s nominees. Here’s a partial list of those DJT has proposed and what happened to them:

    –Senator Rick Scott–DJT wanted Scott as the Senate Majority leader. Scott was soundly rejected by Senate Republicans.
    –Matt Gaetz–he hardly got out of the gate when he had to withdraw his nomination for AG.
    –Pete Hegseth– DJT wants him as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth’s nomination is on life support because of allegations of the sexual abuse of women and public drunkenness. And his mother has not been of much use to him. Even Senate Republicans think he is toxic.

    Then we have another DJT nominee who has flown under the radar. It’s Chad Chronister who DJT nominated to head the DEA. Chronister also withdrew his nomination this week. For those not familiar with the name, Chad is the Sheriff of Hillsborough, Florida. How did Chad get into trouble in the nomination process? Well, it seems one MAGA House member doesn’t like Chad. MAGA House Rep. Thomas Massie (Kentucky) said Chad “should be disqualified”. Why? Because Chronister took his job seriously and when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020 he enforced the state’s emergency protocols. Apparently, Massie thinks Chad should have defied Covid-19 restrictions. So one statement by one MAGA Congressman was enough to sink Chronister’s nomination. Of course, DJT wanted to claim credit. The next day in a post DJT said: “He didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters”. Say what?

    It appears that in March 2020, Chronister arrested the pastor of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people–in defiance of the state’s pandemic social distancing regulations–and the safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. After the controversial arrest Chronister issued this statement: “Shame on the pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of his staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared emergency. We hope that this will be a wakeup call”.

    So Chad Chronister’s only sin was to enforce Covid-19 protocols to protect the health of Hillsborough County citizens. And almost 5 years later he is paying the price. Chronister’s failed nomination serves as a reminder. If we experience another pandemic in the next 4 years there will be no one to protect us from infection–at least not in the DJT administration because there will be no NIH or a Dr. Fauci!

    So what can we say about DJT’s failed nominees to date? Are Senate Republicans suddenly discovering they have back bones and are treating their “advice and consent” seriously? DJT expected a rubber-stamp Senate confirmation of his picks but that hasn’t happened. And we haven’t even gotten to Kash Patel, Tulsi or RFK, Jr. Adam Schiff, the new Senator from California, says Patel is “better suited for internet troll than FBI Director”. Boy are the next few weeks going to be exciting!

    1. 83 years ago Japan attacked the United States. The next day they bombed our facilities in the Philippians, sunk two British Destroyers and began their vicious blitzkrieg assault of the shipping lanes and islands in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. The Japanese cut off our ability to project power or supplier troops that were further east.

      Some of my dad’s high school classmates were among those cut off and captured in Bataan. Dad later returned to fight the Japanese in the Solomon Islands, including Guadalcanal and Munda. We almost lost this war in the beginning.

      The lessons the navy learned was that the days of the big battle ships were over. Unfortunately, it took the attack on Pearl Harbor to teach the navy that air power was the wave of the future.

      There are dinosaurs that have to go. There are massive inefficiencies and waste that must be scrutinized. The revolving door of generals who can retire and go immediately into a lobbying position with the defense contractors must stop or be curtailed.

      If he were alive, my father would be horrified at the state of our government and the corruption in D.C. I miss him dearly, but I am glad he was not alive to watch the shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan nor the drag shows on U.S. war vessels.

      What has this Day of Infamy have to do with our current president elect?

      I see no connection.

      1. E.M., it wasn’t the next day, it was just a few hours later. The date is Dec-7 for Pearl Harbor and Dec-8 for the attacks in East Asia, ut only because of the time difference. In East Asia, the attack on Pearl Harbor was also on the 8th.

  3. Jonathan: given your unjustified obsession with President Biden’s single pardon, what if DJT’s first day back in the White House, he reaches across the isle to pardon Democrats himself? Pardons accompanied by the same detailed specifics as President Biden did while pardoning his son to justify why the pardon was necessary?

    A blanket pardon for President Biden for every bribe accepted and classified document stolen over his 50 years in office. That will should help Hunter Biden recover from the lawfare from Republicans and MAGA he has endured! Especially when accompanied with longer explanations of the necessary reason for the pardon than President Biden gave while pardoning Hunter.

    A pardon for President Obama for the felony of paying a Russian spy to write the illegal Russia Dossier, ordering his lawyers in the DoJ and FBI to perjure themselves to courts, and violating Americans’ rights through color of law. Same detailed, specific reasons why that pardon was necessary and given in hopes of healing the nation.

    A blanket pardon for all the Obama lawyers in the AG’s office, the DoJ and FBI who on Obama’s orders repeatedly perjured themselves to courts in order to spy on all people with any ties to DJT and violate those Americans’ civil rights through color of law.

    A pardon for the 39 FBI Head Office agents who the Inspector General’s report said accepted bribes from news media in return for providing “leaks” about their dropping the Clinton investigation to spin up the Crossfire Hurricane Trump investigation.

    A pardon for those named members of the mainstream news media for bribing federal agents.

    A pardon for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her five years of income tax evasion, repeated perjury felonies, obstruction of justice, the illegal Russia dossier, accepting Putin bribes, money laundering, and classified information crimes.

    A blanket pardon for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for threatening SCOTUS justices.

    Pardons for both James Clapper and John Brennan for committing perjury before Congress.

    Pardons for generals Milley, Austin, Mattis, and all of the Woke generals for their violations of the UCMJ.

    That’s just a short version of a long list. Even better better than President Obama pardoning over a thousand drug dealers on his way out of office! Even radical far left Democrats like Tlaib, Omar, and Gigi and myself would appreciate such a magnanimous gesture by DJT, reaching across the isle to Democrats in hopes of being the unifier that Biden and Obama both were.

    Imagine cries of “Joy” and the Vibes from all (who were just over a month ago pointing out DJT is Hitler) when hearing the news of the specific crimes they now had presidential pardons for!

  5. Do the buyers of the paintings (or friends/relatives) need a pardon? Or perhaps Joe’s $$ giveaways before he leaves office?

    I saw KJP on TV — she spoke of Joe’s wrestling with pardoning his son. Does anyone actually believe that?

    I’m guessing that means that the rest of the family pardons will come the day before Joe leaves, including his own. They’re making a lot of noise about having to pardon people like Cheney and Fauci because Trump’s so mean and is known for revenge and lawfare. Of course, the only lawfare he’s actually known for is that committed against him by Joe, but we’re supposed to ignore tiny details like his being the victim of lawfare, not the instigator.

    I would enjoy watching the various Biden’s testifying about their foreign income, and even Hillary about the dossier at congressional hearings. We need the truth so we can heal as a country. Those in denial about these activities will be enlightened. That would do a lot to heal the polarization. We’ve been fed nonsense by these actors (and their media) for too long.

    1. Hunter’s illegitimate daughter, Navy Joan, was “paid” back child support with “Daddy’s” artwork. Poor kid – not only does she get screwed out of actual money, recognition by her grandparents, and a stocking in the White House, she now has to bear the Biden.

  6. Hunter Biden is still Joe Biden’s son. If the value of his art lay in simply his relation to Biden, then there would be no drop in value. The value of his paintings plummets because it was always about buying political favors. Since Hunter Biden received a blanket pardon that will protect him from any new charges for crimes committed in the last decade, then there will be no accountability.

    I believe that Democrats would riot, literally, if President-elect Donald J Trump issued such a blanket pardon to his relatives, friends, and supporters, which would cover even charges not yet brought.

    Yet, if we follow the trend for which President Biden, and to a lesser extent former President Clinton, started, then perhaps Democrats presidents will just issue a preemptive blanket pardon for previous decade for close associates the day they take office. I wonder if presidential pardons can apply to crimes not yet committed in the future. If so, then perhaps ultimately blanket future pardons will be made the first day in office.

  7. * I was surprised when the mother of Hunter’s illegitimate daughter chose one of Hunters paintings as some kind of pay-off.

    The “art” has no value outside of an historical artifact of a corrupt presidency and dark time in American history better forgotten than ever remembered.

    Money laundering…ugh

  11. This is similar to what happened to the Clinton Global Initiative when Hillary Clinton lost the race for President to Donald Trump in 2016. Funding for her foundation dried up quickly, and Bill had to return to giving speeches to raise money.

  13. Hunter’s art is unimportant except in an influence peddling and money laundering investigation.

    As for his pardon, if an enterprising prosecutor wants to take Hunter’s scalp all that is required is patience – he will eventually do something stupid. After all, the 10% Big Guy said about son Hunter: “He Is The Smartest Man I Know”

    What is that old saying about apple trees?

  14. I feel that Hunter will eventually cut off his left Ear after a heated argument with his “sugar bro” Kevin Morris on the stupidity of their whole adventure together.
    Much the same as Vincent van Gogh did after a heated argument with his fellow painter, Paul Gauguin, in Arles, France in 1888.
    The question remains over how will this effect the value of Hunter’s paintings over time. Or will Hunter’s ear itself be auction off at Sotheby’s for a few million.
    Perhaps Mike Tyson will buy it for a snack. Who knows what will happen for sure. One thing is certain, Hunter will be perpetuating his sensationalist myth for years to come.

    https://artofericwayne.com/2023/12/27/van-goghs-ear-the-hidden-truth/

  16. Gigi will be happy to learn that the “anonymous” alleged rape victim of Pete Hegseth she references every single day is going to finally get her day in court. Two courts actually.

    One during Hegseth’s confirmation hearings where she is going to be subpoenaed to be questioned under oath on the specifics of the allegations that she suddenly “leaked” to selected news media upon the announcement of his nomination.

    The second court being Hegseth’s lawyer announcing they will be bringing action against the previously unknown woman. First, for attempted extortion which resulted in the Hegseth paying the non-disclosure agreement and payment she demanded in return for not making her allegations public. Second, a civil action for violating that non-disclosure payment for repayment of those moneys and damages on top of that. And third, a defamation lawsuit.

    Gigi will have LOTS of material to foam at the mouth about regarding Pete Hegseth when the woman who extorted him gets dragged out in public.

    1. Why does Gigi come here?

      Gigi lost her — and is completely embarrassed.

      Everything Gigi has presented is false and fraudulent.

      Gigi simply continues to lose and embarrass herself.

      One is compelled to surmise that Gigi is engaged in compensatory self-flagellation.

      Gigi’s appearances here are less than pointless, they are self-injurious to Gigi.

      Gigi is the very definition of psychotic.

      Gigi is insane per the definition, as is popularly claimed, by Einstein:

      “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

      You’ll change no results, Gigi; you lost totally, utterly, and immutably.

      Sane people would expect a sane Gigi to go to a bunker far, far away and hide herself forever and ever.

      1. So; you are indicating that Gigi is a member of the prog/left democrat horde?

      2. Why do you even read that crap?

        There’s a couple of very negative posters here, GiGi and Dennis and maybe a couple of others who tend to rant.

        That’s why there is a scoll button. No need to ever read nonsense.

        1. Wait.

          Does anybody READ Gigi???

          No.

          I simply asked why the —- she’s here.

          She’s LOST because she LOST and she’s thoroughly deranged; she can’t find her way home; she’s a —-ing grotesque GHOST!

      3. “Sane people would expect a sane Gigi to go to a bunker far, far away and hide herself forever and ever.”

        You don’t realize Gigi hides with Dennis McIntyre in his bunker as both await the next moment they choose to strike?

      4. I love it that I live rent free in your head. I didn’t “lose “ anything—America did. Billionaires now own our government— they set up alternative media to peddle lies and push the candidacy of a sociopathic narcissist who is a convicted felon, sexual assaulter, fraudster, thief and pathological liar, and who started an insurrection, stole classified documents and tried to rig the 2020 election after he lost—AND GOT AWAY WITH IT! Part of their message is that Biden is the real crook— and you believe that too, even though there’s no proof whatsoever.

        MAGA media made up new words like “lawfare“ and convinced substantial numbers of people that Trump was a “victim” of targeted prosecution— even though the facts are there and grand juries indicted him based on sworn testimony and evidence. They twisted the facts, and hooked gullible people without college educations to resent “liberal elites“ who are forcing CRT down children’s throats, letting in murderous gangs of rapist illegals who are “poisoning the blood of America” , and that “unborn babies “ and children need to be “saved” from sex change surgeries being done in schools. They pandered to the overall lack of knowledge of economics and convinced people that the economy was in a free-fall, even though it is the strongest in the world, proven by every economic indicator .

        It’s all a scam—it’s all about the money — massive tax breaks, no more consumer protection bureau, polluters can do whatever they want because regulations will be rolled back—IRS gutted, no more anti trust enforcement—that’s why the billionaires invested in MAGA media that also harps that traditional media can’t be trusted. They also taught you MAGAs to hate and distrust educated people and science— to keep you distrusting counter messaging. They convinced you that you are smarter than those uppity college educated liberals —And you MAGAs bought it! America is the loser here.

  19. With due regard for any copyright or other intellectual property issue, and the fair-use exception thereto, perhaps Hunter’s next project could be a painting of the Monopoly game’s Get Out Of Jail, Free card.

  20. Dennis McIntyre’s sponsor the slick grifter Barack Obama is back to living his life of rich white privilege after popping up to reprimand ‘the bros’ from the hood during the election. At the same time Chicago who proudly claims him as a native son is rapidly flaming in with financial self-immolation. Yet again. Clearly there are some multi-millionaires operating in and around Chicago and Washington DC who aren’t paying their fair share to fund government employee unions.

    When does Chicago collapse?

    Despite the massive stock market boom, the Chicago Firefighters pension is only 21.6 percent funded.

    Police is 31.1 percent funded. The Teachers’ pension is only 43.4 percent funded.

    Illinois’ pension crisis has put taxpayers on the hook for $211 billion in unfunded state and local pension liabilities according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

    The Census Reporter shows the population of Illinois is 12.55 million and shrinking. There are 5.07 million households.

    If you live in Illinois, your household share is $41,617.

    By the way, 11.6 percent of the population is below the poverty line.

    1. The common denominator are the democrats who have overseen and managed that city for decades; and yet the voters keep voting dems into office.
      Another issue to add your list are the democratic teacher’s union and the decades of declining K-12 public school educational outcomes; to the point where the actual horrible educational achievement tests have increased value destructive community risks.
      Keep the population uneducated and that population is much easier to manipulate – that’s been the dem strategy for decades.

      1. “and yet the voters keep voting dems into office.”

        Even the living voters, for crying out loud!

      2. Anonymously12:25PM
        The question is when Chicago collapses and falls, what do you do with it. A landfill might be a good alternative. You may need to build a wall on the Indiana border to the east and another wall on the Wisconsin border to the north. Of course, to get through they will have to show their picture ID.

        1. “when Chicago collapses and falls, what do you do with it.”

          Unfortunately, it makes no geographic sense to cede it to Canada unless Michigan and Wisconsin (at the least) go with it.

          1. Why would you assume Canadians WANT Illinois? The majority of them living outside of Ontario despise that state for having enough seats in their government to put Trudeau or other liberals in power even if the rest of the country votes the opposite way.

            Why assume they want Illinois as the new state of Southern Ontario?

      3. Correction:

        The common denominator is the Democrats, who have overseen and managed that city for decades, and yet the voters keep voting Dems into office.

      4. California is what happens with a Democrat supermajority. The US needs to stop voting Democrat into power, because the party has veered too far Left, which is totalitarian, and its policies cause poverty.

        California has been under a Democrat supermajority for many years. One of the rare Republican state politicians once told me that Democrats don’t even have to talk to Republicans. With a supermajority, they don’t need to negotiate with Republicans; they just pass anything they want.

        California has devolved into a dystopia. There are 181,399 homeless living like the walking dead in California. Tent cities take over sidewalks. There are feces maps for San Francisco. Dirty needles are in parks. Groceries, rent, fuel, and the general cost of living are unaffordable.

        I paid $37 at a Subway for a foot long sandwich and a shrinkflated bag of chips for my son, a salad for myself, and no drinks. California passed yet another minimum wage increase last January, which an even higher increase for fast food employees. This jacked up the cost of quick service restaurants to the point that it’s too expensive. California will pass another minimum wage increase in 2025. I wonder how much that sandwich will cost then. With every minimum wage increase, there are layoffs, automation, some businesses close, and the cost of all goods and services increases. People who complain about all the self checkout lines, and high prices, need to understand this.

        Since major cities in California are sanctuary cities, the state spends a horrifying amount on illegal aliens. In 2022 alone, before the worst of the illegal immigration wave hit, California spent 22.8 billion dollars on illegal aliens.

        California ranks dead last for business climate.

        The unelected California Air quality Resources Board, or CARB, decided that trucks greater than 26,000 lbs GVW older than 2010 may no longer be registered in the state. That meant that trucking companies had to buy all new fleets, or move their businesses and register in another state. This was an astronomical expense, that increased the cost of all goods that are shipped, including groceries. CARB then recently updated its Clean Trucks Act, which requires that 55% of class 2b-3 vehicles with GVW under $14,000 lbs be zero emission, and 75% of class 4-8 vehicles be zero emission. In order to sell gas powered vehicles in the state, a manufacturer has to make a certain percentage of zero emission vehicles. RV manufacturers don’t make any electric RVs, and if they created that technology, no one would buy them. Journalists have abandoned EVs on road trips, and had them towed home, while they rented gas powered cars, because EVs are totally unsuited for road trips. They need to be charged for 4 hours every 2 to 3 hours of driving. EVs are designed for short city drives. RVs are made for long journeys. CARB also banned RV generators, effective 2028. I live in an area with regular power outages, due to power cuts in high winds. We all rely on gas generators where I live. In my community, we have wells, which require electricity to pump the water.

        Few people actually want an electric vehicle. They are more expensive, the entire car needs to be junked when the battery dies, because the battery itself costs over $10,000, so they clog landfills or are abandoned in lots to leak toxins, they strand you during power outages, they can’t be used for road trips, and if the power company cuts the power on a high wind day due to fire risk, you may be unable to evacuate ahead of a fire, in a fire state. The Democrat supermajority still seeks to force Californians to buy EVs by fiat, and chases gas powered vehicle manufacturers out of the state.

        Stop voting Democrat. Republicans have absolutely nothing to do with the plight of California, which has sent so many taxpayers fleeing the state.

        2. You forgot to use your big words like “hegemony “. When are you moving to Mississippi?

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