Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet, *America* (2016), sold for $12.1 million at Sotheby's New York on Tuesday evening, falling short of pre-sale expectations. The work, consigned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, received a single bid and hammered at $10 million, just above the value of its gold content. Installed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Breuer Building, the toilet was viewable but not usable. The sale was notable for accepting cryptocurrency and lacking a guarantee.
The modest result underscores the gap between the artwork's conceptual value and its material worth, as the gold alone was worth $9.9 million. *America* is one of only two fabricated examples; the other was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. The sale failed to challenge Cattelan's auction record of $17.2 million for *Him* (2011), but the work remains a landmark of institutional critique and absurdity.