Tag: Christies

Christie’s AI auction sparks controversy

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Over 3,000 artists have signed an open letter to Christie’s New York urging them to cancel an upcoming auction of art created using artificial intelligence. The sale, which is titled ‘Augmented Intelligence’ – a term used to describe the subset of AI machine learning which is used to enhance human intelligence rather than replace it – is due to open for bidding on 20th February. The sale features the work of “early AI pioneers of the 1960s”, including Harold Cohen, as well as contemporary artists like Refik Anadol. Works range in value from $10,000 to $250,000 and the auction house expects to bring in more than $600,000.

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Rare Rembrandt painting heads to auction

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A painting by the Dutch seventeenth-century artist Rembrandt van Rijn is heading to auction this December and could make in the region of £15 million. The Adoration of the Kings was the subject of an extensive research project at Sotheby’s over the past 18 months after it was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in 2021 as ‘Circle of Rembrandt’, where it carried a substantially lower estimate of only €10,000-15,000. This new research has led specialists to conclude that the painting was in fact by the artist himself and therefore worth considerably more money.

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Christie’s sale of Fidenza NFT for £365,000 – a resurgence for digital art NFTs?

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On 28 February, the Christie’s 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale offered Fidenza #724, a digital pigment print on paper which was sold accompanied by a NFT by the artist and software engineer Tyler Hobbs. Christie’s described the work as “channelling inspiration from art history and nature into innovative computer code.” The work exceeded its pre-sale estimate of £200,000-300,000, selling for £365,000. This sale is the latest in what seems to be a resurgence in the NFT and digital art market.

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Paul Allen’s masterpiece collection sells for record-breaking $1.6 billion (£1.34 million) at Christie’s

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Paul Allen’s (1953-2018) spectacular collection has achieved an unprecedented $1.6 billion (£1.34 million) over two sales at Christie’s, becoming the most valuable private collection of all time. The first sale alone of 60 works fetched £1.5 billion (£1.26 billion) – the highest total ever recorded at a single auction. Allen’s estate will donate all proceeds from the landmark sales to philanthropic causes.

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Tracey Emin sells new painting for £2.3 million to fund art studio

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Tracey Emin’s new, searingly personal painting has sold for a whopping £1.9 million (£2.3 million with fees) at Christie’s, four times over its low estimate. The renowned artist will use the money to support her artists’ studio complex in Margate. “It’s amazing. It’s going to make a massive difference,” marvelled Emin. “The support for what I’m doing in Margate is phenomenal.”

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