Sotheby’s Digital Art Division Posts a Positive Year

Michael Bouhanna, Vice President and Head of Digital Art at Sotheby’s, has declared a triumphant year for digital art at the prominent art brokerage, despite a year of mixed reviews for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

“2023 at Sothebys will remain one of the most exciting years for Digital Art,” he stated.

Sotheby’s Record All-Time High Price for Digital Artwork

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bouhanna detailed Sotheby’s accomplishments in the digital art arena for the year 2023, highlighting that the highest sale surpassed $6 million.

“Achieved the 2023 all-time high price for a digital artwork: $6.2M for Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #879 (The Goose).”

Furthermore, Bouhanna stated that the art broker conducted over 25 auctions, which focused exclusively on digital art or including it in contemporary art sales.

He pointed to another highlight being their “very first dedicated live auction with more than 300 attendees, achieving $12 million.”

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Sotheby’s Explores Digital Art for Nearly Two Years

On October 18, BeInCrypto reported that Sotheby’s would be launching Sotheby’s Metaverse to offer digital collectors a curated NFT collection.

NFTs were instrumental in keeping art auctioneers afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, many physical locations frequented by art lovers had to close their doors.

However, this stimulated the sphere of digital artwork, as art lovers needed new works to populate the hanging space on their walls. NFTs have also served to expose artwork to audiences that traditional channels have failed to capture.

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