May 20, 2022
By Murtuza Merchant
NFT artist Cory Van Lew has just accused Sotheby’s of refusing to give him his NFT auction profits.
Accordingly, the Van Lew will start a trial against the giant auction house – possibly for fraud.
Meanwhile, other web3 artists claim the company never paid them either.
How did Sotheby’s withhold Van Lew’s auction profit?
This week, Sotheby’s makes headlines again – this time for holding back an NFT artist’s profits. Cory Van Lew, a popular visual artist, shared the news via Twitter on May 19th.
Surprisingly, though, Van Lew’s issues with the auction house had begun way back in October 2021. Accordingly, Sotheby’s failed to give Van Lew the profit generated from his NFT auction.
In fact, the tragic incident inspired Van Lew to develop his own auction-style platform. Of course, the new site is based on the same principles of decentralization that dominate the NFT market.
Have other artists had issues with Sotheby’s?
Unfortunately, Cory Van Lew is just one of the many artists going through financial problems from Sotheby’s. For example, the digital artist Drift (@DrifterShoots) also had to wait over a month to receive the payment for his NFT auction. Surprisingly, other digital artists reported similar experiences.
All in all, the leading auction house might be unreliable when it comes to NFT artists’ auctions. Now, victims such as Drift share their advice on Twitter:
“Artists can be afraid to speak up because we are so happy to be included in such a prestigious place but this is wrong,” the artist wrote in a tweet. “I stand in solidarity with Cory and the other artists waiting. If we are professionals then we expect to be treated the same.”
Image: Wikimedia commons
About the author
Murtuza Merchant is a senior journalist and an avid follower of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
