Expectations disappointed

Few buyers for AI art at Christie’s auction

Several thousand people had protested against the auction in the run-up to the event.(Bild: Angelina – stock.adobe.com (KI-generiert))

The first auction of art created exclusively with the help of artificial intelligence at Christie's auction house has largely fallen short of expectations. 14 of the 34 pieces up for sale either received no valid bids or were sold for less than the estimated reserve price. 

Only one work of art realized more than the estimated price. This was the animation by the well-known digital artist Refik Anadol entitled "Machine Hallucinations - ISS Dreams - A", which fetched the highest sum at 277,200 dollars (around 256,600 euros).

According to Christie's, a total of 728,784 dollars was raised during the 14-day online auction. Despite the mixed results, Christie's Director of Digital Art, Nicole Sales Giles, saw the auction as proof that collectors recognize the influence and importance of artists.

"Massive theft"
Artists had criticized the auction in advance and called for its cancellation. 6490 people signed a petition to this effect, arguing that some works had been created with the help of AI models that had used works protected by copyright without permission. The petition spoke of "massive theft of works by human artists".