Neural network creates work of art, to be sold at auction

A particularly curious lot will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in London today: an artwork created by artificial intelligence. The estimated price of the exhibit makes it competitive with the finest paintings created by history’s greatest artists.

The installation is called Memories of Passersby I. It consists of two screens and a vintage walnut chest of drawers, where the neural network is stored. It generates images that are then displayed on the screens, and each generated portait is absolutely unique. This will be the second AI-generated artwork to be sold. The first was Portrait of Edmond de Belamy, which sold for $432 000 last year.

Teaching the machine to generate images was no small feat: the AI had to analyze thousands of European paintings. The system is completely autonomous. The buyer will only need to connect the neural network to a power outlet. Starting bids for this lot will begin at $40 000 — 50 000. The project was created by Mario Klingemann.