Maurizio Cattelan’s sculpture was stolen shortly after the exhibition titled Victory is not an Option opened
Maurizio Cattelan. America. The Guggenheim Museum. Photo: CHRISTINA HORSTEN/dpa/TASS/The Art Newspaper
Maurizio Cattelan’s work America, a 18-carat gold toilet worth £4.8 million, which was earlier displayed at the Guggenheim Museum, was stolen at the exhibition Victory is not an Option on September 14, according to the Art Newspaper.
“I want to be positive and think the robbery is a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action. I wish it was a prank," Cattelan told the New York Times, adding that it was rather “surreal since the subject of the robbery was a toilet” and calling the thieves great performers.
To use America at Cattelan’s exhibition, visitors had to book an appointment. The sculpture was installed in the guides’ bathroom and plumbed into the water system, which was supposed to prevent it from being stolen. No additional security measures were taken.
Thieves stole the gold toilet at around 4:30 am, causing “significant damage and flooding”. A 66-year-old man was detained in connection with the incident and questioned by the police. The sculpture is still missing. Social media users fear the toilet may be melted down.
“It is deeply ironic that a work of art portraying the American Dream and the idea of an elite object made available to all should be almost instantly snatched away and hidden from view,” Dominic Hare, the chief executive of Blenheim Palace, said in a statement.
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