America
America is a multiple sculpture by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. In 2016, five identical, fully functional examples were made after the model of a US-style flush toilet, including three for the art market and two artist’s proofs. Each sculpture was crafted from 18-karat gold. The first widely known example was exhibited as a long-term performance in a toilet room at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City during 2016 and 2017, where visitors could view and use it. This same example was later installed in a historic toilet room at Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom, near Winston Churchill’s birth room, as part of a Cattelan exhibition, before being stolen on 14 September 2019.
March 2017 © MossAlbatross · Public domain
March 2017 © MossAlbatross · Public domain
March 2017 © MossAlbatross · Public domain
November 2016 © stu_spivack · Public domain
Identification | |
| Title | America |
| Description | A participatory satirical work: a fully functional toilet sculpture |
| Nickname | The golden toilet |
| Type | Sculpture |
Creator | |
| Artist | Maurizio Cattelan |
| Artist nationality | Italian |
| Artist's later statement | He said in 2016 that it was "even more of a torture not to work than to work" |
| Artist's remark | "Whatever you eat, a two-hundred-dollar lunch or a two-dollar hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise." |
| Artist's description of the work | "100 percent art for the 99 percent" |
Historical context | |
| Reference or allusion | Marcel Duchamp's Fountain |
| Conception date | mid-2015 |
| Artist's age at the time of withdrawal announcement | 51 |
| Created after | Cattelan's announced withdrawal from art following his 2011/2012 Guggenheim retrospective |
| Conceived for | the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City |
| Year created | 2016 |
Physical characteristics | |
| Functionality | Fully functional; usable by visitors |
| Weight/value | Cattelan said the work's exact weight in gold was equivalent to more than US$4 million in bullion value in September 2019 |
| Known surviving examples | The second and allegedly only other surviving copy |
| Form | A US-style flush toilet |
| Number of copies made | Three examples |
Materials | |
| Material | 103 kg of solid 18-karat gold |
Technique | |
| Fabrication location | A foundry in Florence, Italy |
| Construction method | Cast in several parts and welded together |
Appearance | |
| Designed appearance | Made to resemble the museum's other Kohler toilets |
Significance | |
| Art-market valuation | Estimated at up to US$6 million |
| Auction result | A second casting sold on 18 November 2025 for US$12.1 million to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, about US$2 million above its bullion value |
| Public use at Guggenheim | More than 100,000 people reportedly queued to use it |
Location and ownership | |
| Loan source | The permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, United States |
| Placement at Blenheim Palace | Installed in a lavatory formerly used by Winston Churchill |
| Buyer | Ripley's Believe It or Not! (sole bidder) |
| Later installation | In 2025, another example was installed at Sotheby's headquarters, 945 Madison Avenue, New York |
| Later ownership | A later example had belonged to a private collector since 2017 |
| Original installation location | One of the visitor restrooms on the 5th floor of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York |
History and restoration | |
| White House response | No response was reported |
| Theft | Stolen from Blenheim Palace on 14 September 2019 |
| Installation date at Guggenheim | September 2016 |
| Cattelan quote about the theft | "I always liked heist movies and now I'm in one" |
| Insurance reward | Up to approximately US$124,000 was reportedly offered for its return |
| Charges and convictions | In November 2023, four men were charged; by April 2024, James Sheen had pleaded guilty; in March 2025, Michael Jones and Frederick Doe were convicted at trial and a fourth suspect was acquitted |
| Authorities' belief about fate after theft | Authorities believe the toilet was broken into pieces or melted down to sell the gold |
| Theft consequences | The theft caused structural damage and flooding at the UNESCO World Heritage Site |
| Connection to plumbing | It was connected to the water system |
| White House loan offer | In September 2017, curator Nancy Spector offered to loan America to the White House after the Guggenheim refused a request to loan Vincent van Gogh's Landscape with Snow for Donald Trump's private rooms |
| Display context at Guggenheim | Installed as a long-term performance in a restroom; visitors could view and use it |
| Exhibition context at Blenheim | Available for use as part of an exhibition of Cattelan's works; on display from 12 September 2019 |
| Cleaning protocol | A special cleaning routine was put in place |
| Later sale | Sold at Sotheby's New York on 18 November 2025 for US$12.1 million including buyer's premium |
| Security | A security guard was posted outside the room |
| Funding | Paid for with private funds, according to the museum |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Exhibited in 2019 at | Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England |
Other | |
| Notes | Local imitations were made, including one that was itself stolen |