Why would anyone want to steal a toilet? When it’s a fully functioning 18 carat gold toilet worth millions - that’s why. Titled “America”, it was the creation of prankster/artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2016 and typical of works produced by this artist, its meaning is multilayered and full of contrasts.

It was a participatory piece, first installed in the bathroom of the Guggenhein Museum in New York where visitors were invited to relieve themselves in luxury while musing on the fascination of the piece. But it is believed to have had an acerbic message behind it, perhaps a satire on excessive consumption and a scathing critique on capitalism. The title “America” is thought to be a reference to the distorted American dream. Cattelan once described the piece as “art of the 1% for the 99%” that is; art by the wealthy for everyone else on the planet.

It’s reported that in 2017, the White House asked the Guggenheim for a loan of a Van Gogh painting for Donald Trump’s private apartments. The museum refused, but offered “America” instead - and received no response. It’s been suggested that “America” was an evocation of Trump’s career, but Cattelan has never confirmed this.

While on loan in the bathroom of Blenheim Palace in England in 2019, thieves broke in, ripped the toilet away from its plumbing and made off with it. The resulting flooding doing a lot of damage. Cattelan’s response to this was typical of his black humour “I’ve always loved heist films and at last I’m in one of them”.

There were suggestions that Cattelan may have orchestrated the heist himself, so he teamed up with the Generali insurance company for a promotional campaign for an insurance policy aimed at collectors.

Just recently, a judge in Oxford sentenced two men over the theft but there has been no trace of “America”. It’s thought to have been broken up and sold in bits. If you care to look on Artnet’s website, you will find grainy footage of the heist.

References;

Culturezvous.com

Artnet.com

Sad Case of the Lost “America”