Ai-Da Robot Leads Sotheby's, Online $1.29m 'Digital Art Day Auction'

A work by Ai-Da Robot, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Digital Art Day Auction' on November 7.

• The sale totaled $1.29m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 15 works sold totaling $1.29m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.1m (low) and $1.98m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 88% of the original 17 lots announced.

The star lot was: Ai-Da Robot, A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024), which sold for $1.12m, 836% above its $120,000 low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 836% above its low estimate. Ai-Da Robot, A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024), sold for $1.12m ($120,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has not been traded before.

• 7 works, or 47%, sold above their high estimate.
• 3 works, or 20%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 33%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Ai-Da Robot, A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024). It sold for $1.12m, 836% above its $120,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: XCOPY, DOOM Party (2020), estimated at $800,000 (low) to $1.5m (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.