Sotheby’s hires NFT specialist to join digital art team

The historic art auction house Sotheby’s has hired an NFT specialist to join its digital art team. 

Brian Beccafico, who goes by Arthemort online, announced his new position at Sotheby’s through a meme. The auction house confirmed in a call that he has joined the company.

Sotheby’s has steadily increased its involvement in NFTs since it auctioned its first NFT, one by digital creator Pak for nearly $17 million, in April 2021. The auction house launched its own NFT platform called Sotheby’s Metaverse in October. 

Sotheby's offers NFTs through multiple sale formats, including auction, buy-now and generative drops, and has a team of specialists in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong. Sotheby’s marquee sales for NFTs and digital art – Natively Digital - are held three times a year. Last year, when such things were searingly hot, the most expensive Bored Ape Yacht Club ever sold went for $3.4 million, and the second most expensive Cryptopunk ever sold reached $11.7 million. 

Beccafico, who comes from a family of art collectors, is an NFT art collector himself who has purchased works from the top names in crypto including Beeple, Pak, Fewocious and XCOPY, Beccafico said in a prior interview. He recently received a master's degree in art business from Sotheby's.