The first example of artwork created by machines was in 1973 with the development of AARON, an algorithm that simulated freehand drawings from coded instructions. What set AARON apart was that it would be able to randomly deviate slightly from instructions, allowing each piece it created to be unique.

       Upon the release of the personal computer, the field of AI quickly grew and developed faster than before. The next major advancements to generative artwork came with algorithms designed to convert traditional paintings to digital copies. With time, AI began to study paintings for properties such as style and time period. This gave rise to algorithms that would try modifying and combining paintings and images based on their styles such as Neural Style Transfer and DeepDreams. Beginning in 2017, the focus of generative artwork shifted from modifying and combining artwork to creating original pieces.