''America'' was a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

created in 2016 by the Italian artist

Maurizio Cattelan Maurizio Cattelan (; born 21 September 1960) is an Italian visual artist. Known primarily for his hyperrealistic sculptures and installations, Cattelan's practice also includes curating and publishing. His Satire, satirical approach to art has re ...

. An example of satirical participatory art, it was a fully functioning

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...

made of 18-

karat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

solid

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. It was stolen in 2019 from

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England, where it was exhibited on loan from the permanent collection of the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. Authorities believe the thieves broke it up or melted it down to sell the gold. In 2025 three local men were convicted of its theft.

History

Guggenheim Museum exhibition

Cattelan created it in 2016 for the

, United States. It was made in a foundry in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy, cast in several parts that were welded together. Made to look like the museum's other Kohler Co. toilets, it was installed in one of the lavatories for visitors to use. A special cleaning routine was put in place. The museum stated that the work was paid for with private funds. According to the museum, over 100,000 people waited in line to use ''America'', and a security guard was posted outside the room. According to Cattelan the work was made of of gold, which in September 2019 was valued at more than US$4 million as

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

. As an artwork, it has been estimated as high as six million. In September 2017 the museum declined a request from the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

to loan '' Landscape with Snow'' by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

for the private rooms of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, then the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Nancy Spector, the

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, offered to loan ''America'' instead. Any reply by the White House was not reported.

Loan to Blenheim Palace and theft

In September 2019 ''America'' was installed at

, England, where it was available for use as part of an exhibition of Cattelan's works. It was placed in a lavatory formerly used by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. On 14 September 2019 it was stolen from Blenheim Palace. A representative of the palace previously said that because ''America'' was plumbed in, and potential thieves would be aware of its use, security was not much of an issue. Because it had been connected to the water pipes, the theft caused structural damage and flooding to the palace, which has been designated a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. Cattelan said, "I always liked heist movies and finally I'm in one of them." Blenheim's insurance company said that up to approximately US$124,000 could be paid in reward for the return of the toilet. In November 2023 the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

charged four men with the theft. By April 2024 one them, James Sheen, serving a 17-year sentence for several thefts, had pleaded guilty. In March 2025 two local men, Michael Jones and Frederick Doe, were found guilty at trial for planning the robbery and helping to sell the gold. A fourth suspect was acquitted. Authorities believe the toilet was broken up or melted down. Local imitations of it have been made, including one that was itself stolen.

Interpretation

The Guggenheim museum linked the meaning of the sculpture to the career of Donald Trump, writing in September 2016 that "the aesthetics of this 'throne' recall nothing so much as the gilded excess of Trump's real-estate ventures and private residences". Cattelan himself declined to give an interpretation of his work, which he conceived of before Trump's campaign in the

2016 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...

. He said that the connection to Trump is "another layer, but it shouldn’t be the only one." The work has also been described as an interpretation of

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

's 1917 sculpture ''

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

''. The art critic

Calvin Tomkins Calvin Tomkins (born December 17, 1925) is an American author and art critic for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. Life and career Tomkins was born in Orange, New Jersey, on December 17, 1925. After graduating from Berkshire School, he attended Prince ...

called it Cattelan's most beautiful artwork, and said "for viewers who crave a one-to-one relationship with art, this piece cannot be topped." The art critic Jonathan Jones, using the work at Blenheim Palace, opined that it felt "Much like peeing on porcelain. But here, among all the photos of young Winston, it also feels like pissing on British history." He also found it reminiscent of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

's hair.

Other gold toilets

There is evidence that some wealthy

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

used gold

chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

s, though no examples are known to have survived.

Bayan Palace Bayan Palace ( ''Qaṣr Bayān'') is the main palace of the Emir of Kuwait. It is located in the Bayan area. History Bayan Palace was opened in 1986 to host the fifth conference of the Arab League. The palace also has an international conferenc ...

is fitted with gold toilets; they were temporarily removed during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. In the 1970s a sanitation firm began offering solid gold toilet seats after receiving a special order from a customer who wanted one as an investment. In 2002 , a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

businessman, included two gold toilets in what he called a shrine to

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. He referred to a comment by Lenin about building public toilets of gold after the global victory of socialism. In 2019 the Hong Kong jewellery firm Coronet displayed a gold toilet in Shanghai, China. This toilet had a bulletproof seat containing more than 40,000 small

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

. Cattelan said he made three gold toilets.

Gallery

Gold-colored toilet.jpg, Top view America (Cattelan) side view.jpg, Side view

References

Notes

External links

Maurizio Cattelan: ''America''
at guggenheim.org {{DEFAULTSORT:America 2016 sculptures Sculptures by Maurizio Cattelan Gold sculptures in the United States Lost sculptures Sculptures in New York City Sculptures in the United Kingdom Stolen works of art Toilets Works about Donald Trump Donald Trump in popular culture Robberies in the United Kingdom