- The first virtual Non-Fungible Token (NFT) art piece to be sold at a major auction house has closed at $69,346,250 during an online auction by Christie’s. These are the details.
The first virtual Non-Fungible Token (NFT) art piece to be sold at a major auction house has closed at $69,346,250 during an online auction by Christie’s. The art piece — which is called “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” — propelled the creator Mike Winkelmann (known as Beetle) as one of the most expensive living artists to date, below David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
Hockney’s “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” had sold for $90.3 million in 2018 and Koons’ stainless steel sculpture “Rabbit” hit $91.1 million in 2019.
Winkelmann’s art piece is a collage of 5,000 images and it took 13 years for him to make. It started out with a bid of $100, but over 350 people bid on it, thus driving the price substantially higher:
.@beeple 's 'The First 5000 Days', the 1st purely digital NFT based artwork offered by a major auction house has sold for $69,346,250, positioning him among the top three most valuable living artists. Major Thanks to @beeple + @makersplaceco. More details to be released shortly
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 11, 2021
Other artists who sold NFT art pieces in auctions included the musician Grimes and Christopher Torres. Grimes sold a collection of art for a reported $5.8 million and Torres had sold his GIF “Nyan Cat” for nearly $600,000.
