What Happens to Hunter Biden's Paintings With His Father Leaving the Presidency?

President Joe Biden is a father to four children. His eldest daughter, Naomi Christina "Amy" passed away with his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden in a car accident in 1972. The couple's sons, Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III and Robert "Hunter" Biden both survived the accident. Beau suffered grave injuries but went on to serve in the military with honor, passing away in 2015 from cancer. Hunter, on the other hand, worked in the private equity sector as a lobbyist.

Hunter's ties to private equity have long been a point of contention with critics of the Biden family, leading them to dig into every deep nook and cranny of Hunter's life to try to find conflicts of interest. Eventually, a beleaguered and embattled Hunter came forward with a new career track in 2021: artist. Some believe his early success as an artist is due solely to his father's standing in the political world. So what happens to his paintings now that the Bidens are leaving the White House?

The First Sons and First Daughters of American history have been an extraordinarily varied lot. From those who went on to serve the country as ambassadors to those who lived quiet lives after their fathers left office, there's a significant spread as to how they have left their marks.

Hunter's legacy is somewhat complicated, and his foray into the world of art left many people surprised. After the COVID-19 pandemic's peak had subsided, Hunter announced that he would be putting his artwork up for sale. It was later revealed that the paintings were purchased by a Hollywood lawyer and Democratic donor, among others. Which led some to suggest that Hunter's success was due only to his father's political career.

Then what happens to his paintings now? Like many artists, Hunter will face the "after the newness wears off" challenges of sustaining an art career once people no longer buzz. Whether or not he succeeds remains to be seen. After all, political capital is good as long as the elder Biden is alive, whether or not he's in the Presidency. So if people's theories about Hunter's art sales being tied to his father's career are true, that won't go away with the end of Joe Biden's time in the White House.

If, on the other hand, Hunter's career as an artist is valued for his own merits, he'll be no better or worse off than he was before his father left office. Either way, Hunter's career as an artist and his paintings aren't likely to go away any time soon, he may just change how public he makes his career moves in the future. With less focus on the First Family, Hunter has more freedom to pursue art as he chooses.

Hunter's art career has always been the focus of Republican and critic ire, and Hunter himself has been at the center of a political firestorm through the late 2010's and the early 2020's. It seems many of his issues are tied to his brother Beau's death in 2015. After which he started drinking excessively and spending money on drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he had sexual relations, according to his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle.

What followed was a long spiral into drug use, a stint in rehab, and then a bad decision which led to a number of legal woes. He purchased a gun in 2018, writing on the application that he was not using drugs, which is a requirement for being approved for a firearms purchase. At this point, Hunter was dating Hallie Biden, the widow of his departed brother, who he introduced to cocaine addiction. After clearing leftover drug paraphernalia from Hunter's car at one point, she found and disposed of the hand gun.

Hunter's struggle with substances has led him down dark roads, but he credits his art as a form of therapy. Unfortunately, it has stirred up ethics concerns as people worry that the President's standing is leveraging Hunter's art career. And this isn't the only conflict of interest that the Biden family critics see. Over the years, Hunter has faced numerous allegations of illegal business dealings and an infamous laptop. Allegations made all the more sinister by his father's position of power.

Those seeking to bury Hunter under his own guilt have struggled to find anything concrete, although the gun purchase will continue to haunt Hunter for some time. As they continue to dig for controversies to heap onto the First Son, he continues to paint. What that future holds for him remains to be seen, but for now the Hunter Biden art legacy remains his focus.

In a statement (via New York Times), Hunter made it clear that he would continue to create art: “All I know is that tomorrow I’m going to wake up and find time to make art. 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.”