Overview
- Maurizio Cattelan’s America (2016) hammered at $10 million and totaled $12.1 million with fees after just one bid.
- The auction opened at the estimated melt value of its 18-karat gold, with the 101-kilogram work containing roughly 2,440 ounces.
- Sotheby’s confirmed there was no irrevocable bid or guarantee for the lot, and it stated that cryptocurrency would be accepted for payment.
- The consignor was Steve Cohen, who acquired the piece in 2017; the work was shown in controlled, nonfunctional viewings at Sotheby’s Breuer Building.
- Of the editioned examples, one was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019 and is believed to have been melted, leaving this as the only extant version, which Cattelan conceived as a satire of superwealth.