LONDON / NEW YORK — A fully functional 18-karat solid gold toilet — one of the most controversial and talked-about artworks of the 21st century — is going under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York. The sculpture, titled “America” by renowned Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, carries a starting price of approximately US$10 million, reflecting the value of its 101.2 kilograms of pure gold.
Sotheby’s announced on Friday that the work will be auctioned on November 18, describing it as an incisive commentary on wealth, privilege, and the commercialization of art. The toilet, both a sculpture and a functioning object, became a cultural icon following its 2016 debut at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, where thousands queued up to use it. The auction house has called the piece “a perfect symbol of the collision between artistic production and commodity value.”
“This is Maurizio Cattelan at his most provocative,” said David Galperin, Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s New York. “America forces us to question how we assign worth — whether in art, luxury, or everyday life. It has immense intrinsic value and an even greater conceptual one.”
Two versions of “America” were originally created. The first, which gained international attention at the Guggenheim, was later offered to then–U.S. President Donald Trump after he requested to borrow a Van Gogh painting. The second version, being sold at auction, has been in a private collection since 2017. The other version was infamously stolen in 2019 from Blenheim Palace — the birthplace of Winston Churchill — in a daring heist that made global headlines. The piece was forcibly removed from its plumbing and has never been recovered. Investigators believe it was likely melted down for its gold content.
Cattelan, known for his provocative and humorous approach to art, has described “America” as a satirical reflection on excess and equality. “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same — toilet-wise,” he once remarked. His previous works include “Comedian,” a banana duct-taped to a wall that sold for US$6.2 million, and “Him,” a haunting sculpture of a kneeling Adolf Hitler that sold for US$17.2 million.
Sotheby’s will display “America” at its Breuer Building headquarters in New York from November 8 to November 18, offering visitors a chance to see the piece up close. Unlike its earlier exhibitions at the Guggenheim and Blenheim Palace — where visitors could actually use the toilet — the work will be on display only, not connected to plumbing.
“This work reverses the logic of Cattelan’s banana, which was valuable only because of its idea,” Galperin said. “Here, we have a piece that’s both conceptually rich and physically precious. The tension between those two types of value is precisely what makes it so powerful.”
The sale of “America” is expected to draw significant international attention from both art collectors and the public. It serves as a reminder that in Cattelan’s world, humor and critique are often cast in the same gold.