The art gallery where Hunter Biden’s exorbitantly priced paintings are featured sold one of his works to a top Democrat donor who is a “friend” of the Biden family — and who was named by President Joe Biden to a prestigious commission.
Insider reported that L.A. real estate investor Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who has given tens of thousands of dollars to the political Left, purchased a piece of Hunter Biden’s artwork.
Several months after Hunter Biden’s art went on sale, the president appointed Naftali to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
The report said that it was not clear if the art that she purchased came before or after she was appointed to the commission.
Hunter Biden wrote in an email discovered on his abandoned laptop that he could have sway in who gets on the commission, the report said.
Another owner of Hunter Biden’s art is L.A. attorney Kevin Morris, who was recently spotted smoking a bong during a visit with the president’s son. The New York Times said that Morris might have received the art as a gift while Insider said that Morris purchased the art.
One buyer, who identity is not known, reportedly purchased 11 pieces of Hunter Biden’s paintings for $875,000, the single largest buyer out of the $1.38 million his art has generated in sales.
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at the time that “all interactions regarding the selling of art and the setting of prices will be handled by a professional gallerist adhering to the highest professional standards.”
“And any offer out of the normal course would be rejected out of hand, and the gallerist will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection and transparency,” she claimed.
Walter Shaub — the former head of the Office of Government Ethics under President Barack Obama — previously said that the administration had effectively “outsourced government ethics to a private art dealer and they’re depending on unknown art purchasers to help keep the secret.”
“You know, on one level I have some empathy for the President because he can’t control his relatives,” Shaub continued. “But on another level it just is implausible that this art from an unknown artist would be selling at this price if it didn’t have the Biden name attached to it. The cachet that comes with buying this art is getting to say that you own art created by the President’s son. And so it really looks like the President’s son capitalizing on his father’s public service.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.