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President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, has taken a turn into artistry and the first paintings he’s selling are going for as high as $500,000.
The first son's first foray into the art world has seen his pieces picked up by art dealer Georges Berges, who has priced the younger Biden's artwork between $75,000 and $500,000 depending on the size and scope of the collage artwork.
That's a pretty big haul when compared to other artists' first sales. In fact, Biden’s pieces are worth more off the bat than a piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat that sold for $20,900 in 1984 – $53,770.96 in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation.
"I don't paint from emotion or feeling, which I think are both very ephemeral," Biden told artnet on Monday. "For me, painting is much more about kind of trying to bring forth what is, I think, the universal truth."
Biden's dealer Berges – who represents Sylvester Stallone and was reportedly arrested in California for assault with a deadly weapon and terrorist threats – plans to promote the art through a private viewing in Los Angeles and an exhibition in New York in the fall later this year.
Berges said Biden’s art has "authenticity," comparing it to works made by legendary artists Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon.
"It has that authenticity that I see in a lot of artists that I personally love, be it Freud or Bacon," he said. "A lot of the issues that are thrown at Hunter is what makes him produce really great work."
The president's son has been painting since he was a child and, while he has no formal training, Biden has taken a serious focus to his work and is now creating art full-time.
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Even without formal training, Biden's pieces carrying five- to six-figure price tags put his work in the same range as established artists in the field.
For comparison, a piece by Andy Warhol sold for $725,000 at a New York auction, only $225,000 more than a piece by the president’s son.
Art dealer Alex Acevedo told the New York Post that he was impressed with Biden's work, saying the pieces could capture between $25,000 and $100,000 if the artist didn’t have his name recognition.
"And anybody who buys it would be guaranteed instant profit," Acevedo told the Post. "He’s the president’s son. Everybody would want a piece of that. The provenance is impeccable.’’
FOX Business reached out to Berges to inquire about the transparency behind Hunter Biden's transactions, prompting an agency representing him to say, "As with every artist, sales are always confidential to protect the privacy of the collector."
"Pricing fine art in his experiences as a Gallerist is based on the demand of the work as well and the intrinsic value of it," The Townsend Group said. "His feeling is that within each piece – as with every artist, sales are always confidential to protect the privacy of the collector, this is standard practice for transactions in galleries as well as auction houses."
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Mark Tribe, who sits as the chairman of the New York City’s School of Visual Arts’ MFA Fine Arts Department, told the Post on Tuesday that Biden's work was "pretty strong."
"The colors and compelling organic forms – it's the kind of organic abstraction that I find easy on the eyes and provokes your curiosity,’’ Tribe said.
Biden's attorney and the White House did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests for comment.