During the Cold War, the CIA funded numerous artists that did abstract work. This was to push back against Soviet Realism and hype up American artists. Jackson Pollock was specifically in this category, as he was an alcoholic nobody until the CIA started funding him. These artists varied in quality. Pollock was considered a hack by his contemporaries, but the money came pouring in.

There’s no doubt the CIA laundered money through art the way they did cocaine and gun trafficking. As far as today is concerned, however, this type of money laundering doesn’t happen anymore. Problems are mostly around IP and NDAs casting a shadow. Damien Hirst, for example, didn’t actually do all of his pouring paintings. Unnamed interns did them but can’t put their own credentials out there or even mention they worked for Hirst.

Obviously, this stuff is still sketchy. But if it were as easy as painting a line and getting a billionaire to buy it, everyone would be doing it lmao