Maurizio Cattelan’s Golden Toilet Lacks Impact
**Maurizio Cattelan’s Gold Toilet Reaches New Heights at Auction**
In a recent Sotheby’s auction at their new Breuer Building headquarters, the art world witnessed an unusual spectacle as Maurizio Cattelan’s solid gold toilet, titled “America,” sold for an astounding $12.1 million. The piece, weighing 223 pounds (101.2 kg) and crafted from 18-karat gold, had its bids start at $10 million. However, despite its fame, the auction saw a lack of bidding fervor, drawing only one final bid over the phone after an attempt by auctioneer Phyllis Kao to leverage potty-related puns to entice more buyers.
Originally acquired by Mets owner Steve Cohen in 2017, the golden toilet was one of two editions. With the price of gold surging by over 50% in the past year, the sculpture’s inherent value in raw material has climbed substantially, surpassing the hammer price, making the timing of the sale particularly fortuitous.
“America” has had a storied past: it was made available for public use at the Guggenheim Museum and was later infamously stolen while on display at Blenheim Palace in the UK. Cattelan’s work was once humorously offered to the White House following Donald Trump’s inauguration, which the administration declined.
Cattelan’s toilet was not the most expensive item of the night; that accolade went to Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, fetching $236.4 million, marking it as the second most expensive artwork ever auctioned. The auction also featured significant works by Cecily Brown, Kerry James Marshall, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Sotheby’s overarching aim was to revitalize interest in art auctions amidst a market slowdown. The recent sales, coupled with a successful auction at Christie’s, might signal a turning tide for the art market.
In the coming days, Sotheby’s anticipates more high-profile sales, including works from the Pritzker collection that feature pieces by Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, promising continued excitement in the art collection sphere. Despite the eccentricity of Cattelan’s “America,” Sotheby’s reassures that less ostentatious options remain available for those interested in the auction house’s facilities.