Almost impossible to understand of when Art Tech was born. In the 15th century Yang Van Eyck experimented with oil-based pigments , which opened a new era in the art world. Then in the 19th century, photography was born, which completely changed the way artists and people look at the world. Not so long ago, Andy Warhol borrowed a technology used in graphic design, called screenprinting.
But it is really in the past 20 years, with the mass adoption of the world wide web and later with smartphones, that we have seen a rapid technological advancement in the art world and art tech was really born as an industry. In the last 5 years, we have also seen the rise of AI, VR, AR, that once again are innovating the art world in extreme ways.
According to the third Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, the online art market reached an estimated new high of $6 billion in 2018. And again, it is growing !