Steve Cohen Identified as Seller of Cattelan’s Gold Toilet for Nov. 18 Sotheby’s Auction

Overview

• The 18-karat work, weighing over 100 kilograms and titled America (2016), is slated for The Now & Contemporary sale in New York.
• Reporting by the New York Times names Cohen as the consignor; Sotheby’s declined to confirm and said there is no irrevocable bid.
• The opening bid will be set by the spot price of the work’s gold, with guidance around $10 million.
• The sculpture is from an edition of three plus two artist proofs, with a sister example stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019 and never recovered, leaving this as the only extant fabricated version.
• Public previews at Sotheby’s Breuer Building will offer one-by-one bathroom viewings beginning Saturday, with the piece installed nonfunctional and labeled “out of order.”