celebrated Canadian photographer Andrew Miller announced an exclusive auction for the first professional, never-sold portrait of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, tokenized as an NFT. The auction coincides with his 10th anniversary of the concept of Ethereum, an open-source decentralized blockchain that is globally recognized for its smart contract capabilities.
The auction will begin on July 1st and will continue until July 30th. On Manifold.xyz, offering collectors a unique opportunity to secure a piece of Ethereum’s early history. The starting bid is fixed at 333 ETH.
In an interview with CryptoSlate, Miller detailed the story behind the photo.
“This auction is an attempt to commemorate and update the history of Ethereum. I gave a picture to a teenager who was in need of money and I literally gave him the shirt on my back.After taking these portraits, I lost Vitalik and Ethereum and they were meteors. I was just beginning to reveal the role my image played in building trust in him and, by extension, Ethereum.
I created the portraits as a giveaway for Vitalik’s non-commercial blog, but wondered if the Ethereum team would need these high-quality photos for commercial purposes. At the time, I elaborated on the licensing and copyright acquisition terms to Vitalik and co-founder Anthony Di Iorio, and copyright payments were briefly discussed on ETH. ETH will be produced for the first time in a few months. At this point, it seemed like our life had taken a different turn, leaving the fact that it would be 3225 ETH.
I sent a question to the Ethereum founders about whether they thought they bought the copyright or intentionally misused my portrait. ”
In 2014, then-19-year-old Buterin piqued Miller’s curiosity with his vision for a decentralized future. Inspired by the possibilities he saw in his teenage years, Miller shot a series of portraits that contributed significantly to Buterin’s public image and perception of Ethereum.
Encadolium Studio here #Montreal host my glorious print @Vitalik Buterin My Reserve 333 ETH Auction is ongoing below https://t.co/AcnXi0XTY9
Ongoing until the end of July. #nft #Ethereum #art #history #Portrait pic.twitter.com/6EEh86Lr15— Andrew Miller (@awesomephoto2) July 6, 2023
For Miller, these portraits became more than just visual representations of Buterin. They captured the decisive change. “He played a shy, socially naive teen, but he had an interesting glow…his slouch is straightened and his chin up when talking about the future, including the idea of Ethereum.” ,” Miller said.
The photographer emphasized the broader story surrounding the auction and emphasized that getting a worthy NFT is not the only goal. Instead, the portrait symbolizes Ethereum’s remarkable journey, capturing the collective efforts that have shaped its success.
These portraits have become synonymous with Buterin, becoming icons of media, memes and derivative arts, and continue to strengthen the trust and awareness surrounding Ethereum. Ethereum is now the leading smart contract platform, and the auction of this iconic piece is sure to spark interest among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, traders, institutions, and more.
