Hunter Biden’s Sketchy Art Deal

Lo and behold, a New York gallery show raises concerns about D.C. influence-peddling and back-door White House bribes. Georges Bergès Gallery on West Broadway in Soho is showing the work of Hunter Biden this fall. Bergès, an established dealer, has struck an unusual ethics agreement with the White House. In response to concerns that influence-seekers will buy Biden’s work, Bergès has promised to keep the names of buyers and prices secret. No one except Bergès and the buyer, not even the artist, will know anything about an acquisition.

I haven’t seen Biden’s art, so I can’t evaluate it. Jerry Saltz, New York magazine’s venerable art critic, calls his work “generic post-zombie Minimalist illustration.” Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. I see lots of new art in New York galleries. Most of it isn’t good. I’d say 99 percent of new art loses its spark after a few years, and its value. This isn’t a tale of our times alone. It has ever been thus.

Lo and behold, a New York gallery show raises concerns about D.C. influence-peddling and back-door White House bribes. Georges Bergès Gallery on West Broadway in Soho is showing the work of Hunter Biden this fall. Bergès, an established dealer, has struck an unusual ethics agreement with the White House. In response to concerns that influence-seekers will buy Biden’s work, Bergès has promised to keep the names of buyers and prices secret. No one except Bergès and the buyer, not even the artist, will know anything about an acquisition.

I haven’t seen Biden’s art, so I can’t evaluate it. Jerry Saltz, New York magazine’s venerable art critic, calls his work “generic post-zombie Minimalist illustration.” Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. I see lots of new art in New York galleries. Most of it isn’t good. I’d say 99 percent of new art loses its spark after a few years, and its value. This isn’t a tale of our times alone. It has ever been thus.