Christie’s To Hold First-Ever AI Art Auction

Luxury auction giant Christie’s is set to make history with its first auction dedicated entirely to AI-generated art.

The sale, titled “Augmented Intelligence,” will run from February 20 to March 5 at the auction house’s Manhattan gallery, marking a major endorsement of AI as a legitimate creative tool in the fine art world, as first reported by R/Scene.

The collection will showcase over 20 AI-driven artworks from leading digital artists, including Pindar Van Arman, Harold Cohen, and Alexander Reben. Several well-known on-chain artists specializing in NFTs, such as Refik Anadol, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, and Claire Silver, will also contribute pieces.

Enter the world of Augmented Intelligence, Christie’s first auction solely offering artworks created with AI. Featuring works from @refikanadol, @clairesilver12, @vanarman, @hollyherndon @matdryhurst and more, the sale challenges us to rethink the limits of artistic agency. pic.twitter.com/MwNZbQPDte

— Christie’s (@ChristiesInc) February 7, 2025

“The auction redefines the relationship between art and technology, showing collectors human agency in the age of AI in Fine Art,” said Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s head of digital art sales. “From robotics to GANs to interactive experiences, artists incorporate artificial intelligence into their practices in many unique ways.”

The artworks range from sculptures and paintings to digital-native NFTs and interactive pieces.

A standout piece is Emerging Faces, a 2017 series by renowned AI artist Pindar Van Arman (estimated at $180,000–$250,000). In this series, two AI agents collaborate on portrait creation—one generates and paints faces using AI, while the other halts the process once it detects a human likeness.

The work on offer includes nine unique canvases, among the first autonomously created by neural networks, marking a key moment in AI-generated art.

Some pieces will be created in real time. Alexander Reben’s latest work transforms generative AI into a live performance, where painting unfolds in real time through an auction-driven process. A large-scale painting robot, powered by Reben’s custom-coded AI models, will be installed at Rockefeller Center.

Beginning at $100, the robot will continue painting as bids increase, with each addition reflecting the rising price. The artwork’s progress will be showcased both onsite and online throughout the exhibition.

This approach, the first of its kind at auction, offers collectors a chance to engage with an evolving piece that highlights AI’s expanding role in creative expression.

Both Christie’s and its rival Sotheby’s have been actively expanding their presence in digital and AI art. In 2021, Christie’s made headlines by selling an NFT by artist Beeple for $69.3 million, fueling mainstream interest in blockchain-based art, as noted by R/Scene.

The sale also coincides with a landmark clarification from the U.S. Copyright Office, which recently affirmed that AI-assisted works can qualify for copyright protection if they contain sufficient human creativity.

This latest auction reflects a growing recognition of AI as a transformative force in the art world, with collectors increasingly drawn to its ability to merge human creativity with machine intelligence.