Having the right hand...

I would go with B

I would go with E.

Iwibeit can you please explain why would you go for E? E is the right answer

Having is a past participle of have i.e something/owned or possession.
'Horace pippin' from the question does not have anything owned to him.
He does not even have his right hand and arm.
let's observe each option given and discuss it carefully.

option C, because does not justify why the 'black American' paints.

option D, The use of being in this option do not give a future signal to why 'Horace pippin' paints by holding the brush in his right hand.

in option E, His only gives what happened to 'Horace pippin' in WW1. It does not give the reason why 'Horace pippin' still holds the brush in his right hand and guiding his movements with his left. i am not convinced enough option E is the correct answer.

for option B, 'in spite of' means 'despite' or 'irrespective of' or 'notwithstanding'.
in spite of here gave an insight understanding why the 'block American' worked by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movement with his left. i choose to stand with option B as the correct answer based on my explanation.

I first saw this question in OG 10. (E) is the OA.

What's wrong with the initial sentence? Several things, but one that pops out at me is the use of the phrase the right hand rather than his right hand. I also note that the word having at the beginning of the sentence is unnecessary. Omitting this word results in no loss of meaning.

Once we have identified the defects in (A), we should eliminate all other answers that contain the same error. In this case (D) also uses the phrase the right hand.

Answer choice (B) is not a good answer. The GMAT frowns on the phrase in spite of because despite has the same meaning and uses fewer words. In addition, after despite we should use a noun, not a subject+ing.

Despite the rain, John arrived on time. OKAY
Despite waking up late, John arrived on time. NOT OKAY.
Although he woke up late, John arrived on time. OKAY.

Option (C) is wordy and unclear.

Answer choice (E), on the other hand, is very similar to (A) except that the objectionable elements have been eliminated. The words having and being have been removed (with no loss of meaning) and the phrase the right hand has been changed into his right hand.