How Hunter Biden’s Fame Helped — Then Hurt — His Art Career

WASHINGTON – George Bergès thought Hunter Biden’s art would sell.

Biden had struggled with addiction, caused scandal and suffered public humiliation, yet he’d sobered up in 2019 and was trying to turn his life around as a painter. And it helped that he had a famous last name.

But Bergès, who owns an art gallery in New York and held exclusive rights to sell Biden’s art and hosted several shows for him, did not renew his contract last year.

“I never expected the whole security issue or the death threats and people assuming political affiliation, which was completely wrong,” Bergès told lawmakers this month during a four-hour deposition on Capitol Hill, according to a transcript .

Bergès, who’s donated to both Democratic and Republican campaigns (including Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign), seemed to dislike that people made assumptions about his politics based on his affiliation with Hunter Biden. And he didn’t like the death threats, which he said were ongoing.

“It was a little bit more than I could chew,” he said. “I kind of wanted my life back. So I haven’t agreed to renew that contract now.”

The revelation that Bergès did not renew his contract with the president’s son runs counter to the story Republicans have told about Hunter Biden. They’ve accused him of cashing in on his family name, taking millions from foreign nationals and fancy art buyers, despite being totally unqualified, because he was actually just selling access to his father. Bergès’ decision shows there were clear limits to the market for Hunter Biden’s work, rather than an unlimited desire to bribe the Biden family.

Bergès said, essentially, that the Biden brand became a problem – he has previously said hackers have targeted his gallery –