Sotheby’s generative art auction nabs $1.2 million, selling out in less than an hour

by RT Watson

Art and collectibles • July 26, 2023, 5:55PM EDT

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Quick Take

A 500-piece collection sold out in less than an hour and then generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in secondary market trading volume.

Storied auction house Sotheby's sold 500 pieces of generative art in less than an hour for $1.2 million.

Created by the artist Vera Molnár and christened Themes and Variations, each piece of digital art was "minted immediately upon purchase," Sotheby's said in a statement, adding that trading volume on the secondary market had totaled 400 ether (about $754,000) in the hours following the auction.

Sotheby's announced the launch of its generative art program last month. Despite a downturn in NFT sales, the auction house has recently been reasonably successful when auctioning off digital works, including a collection that once belonged to the failed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

The auction house said that the sale of Themes and Variations "opened with a ceiling price of 20 ether" ($37,600).

Digital work by artist Vera Molnár sold in auction. Source: Sotheby's

About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.