Maurizio Cattelan's gold toilet 'America' heads to auction at Sotheby's

Maurizio Cattelan's iconic solid gold toilet, titled 'America', will be auctioned at Sotheby's New York on November 18, 2025, as part of The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction. The work, made from over 100 kg of 18-karat gold and a functional replica of a standard Kohler toilet, has a starting bid determined by the weight of the gold rather than expert estimates, currently around $10 million. The piece will be installed in the bathrooms of Sotheby's new headquarters at the Breuer Building, opening in November, and will be on view from November 8. Visitors can view it individually but cannot use it. Originally exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where over 100,000 people used it, 'America' gained further notoriety when it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, in 2019 and never recovered. The auctioned piece is the only existing version. David Galperin, Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's New York, described the work as a Duchampian gesture that deconstructs art history and questions the value of art and the belief systems supporting market and museum institutions.