Christie's to hold first 'AI art auction' but open letter calls for cancellation

Major auction house Christie's has announced that it will hold an 'AI Art Auction.' Although Christie's has a track record of handling AI art, this will be the first auction to feature entirely AI artworks. However, an open letter has been sent to artists planning to sell their works in the auction, urging them to cancel the auction due to concerns that 'AI models trained on copyrighted works may be being used.'

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

What Is AI Art? | Christie’s
https://www.christies.com/en/stories/what-is-ai-art-augmented-intelligence-36dc0897d3584268b5102468a3bf8a8c

Christie's reveals its first AI-dedicated sale
https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW962507022025RP1/

In announcing its first 'dedicated AI art auction,' Christie's said: 'This auction challenges us to reconsider the limits of artistic subjectivity.'

However, concept artist and illustrator Reid Southern published an open letter raising 'serious concerns' about the auction.

Cancel the Christie's AI Art Auction
https://openletter.earth/cancel-the-christies-ai-art-auction-f5135435

Christie's announces AI art auction, and not everyone is pleased | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/08/christies-announces-ai-art-auction-and-not-everyone-is-pleased/

The open letter calls on artists who are planning to put their works up for auction, arguing that 'Many of the works you are planning to put up for auction use AI models trained on copyrighted works. AI models and the companies behind them exploit human artists and use their works without permission or compensation to build commercial AI products that compete with artists.' The open letter has been signed by more than 3,400 people, more than 2,900 of whom are verified.

'Christie's is planning an AI auction that is expected to bring in more than $600,000 to creators who used models trained on copyrighted material from artists without their consent. If you disagree, please sign this open letter,' Southern said.

🔴CALLING ALL ARTISTS🔴 @ChristiesInc is planning an AI art auction expected to bring in over $600,000 to creators who've used models trained on copyrighted material from non-consenting artists.

If you object to this, please sign this open letter. https://t.co/KOob6kuTyd pic.twitter.com/WhEkVaRmqP

— Reid Southen (@Rahll) February 8, 2025

According to the news site TechCrunch, a Christie's spokesperson explained, 'All of the artists up for auction are practicing artists in multiple disciplines, and some have works in major museum collections. The works in this auction have been 'enhanced' using AI, with most of the AI using training data based on input from the artists themselves.'