The US president reportedly asked New York’s Guggenheim Museum if he could borrow a Van Gogh for the White House - but was offered a gold toilet instead. Used by 100,000 visitors, the golden lavatory is thought to be a metaphor for Trump’s America.
The Washington Post says the museum wrote back to say it could not lend the White House the painting, but was willing to offer an 18-karat gold sculpture by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan of a “functioning toilet” instead.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The exhibit, titled America, is seen as a “pointed satire on excessive wealth in the US”, says the BBC.
Museum curator Nancy Spector wrote about the piece in a blog last year, calling it “at once humorous and searing in its critique of our current realities”.
“Though crafted from millions of dollars’ worth of gold, the sculpture is actually a great leveller,” she said, adding that “Cattelan’s anticipation of Trump’s America will, perhaps, be the lasting imprint of the sculpture’s time at the Guggenheim”.
The cost of the artwork has not been revealed.
Asked to explain the meaning of the gold toilet offer, Spector reportedly said: “What’s the point of our life? Everything seems absurd until we die and then it makes sense.”
The White House has made no comment, but many have taken to Twitter to take a swipe at the sitting president.
Not everyone is so enamoured of the Guggenheim’s approach, however.
-
The world’s most romantic hotelsThe Week Recommends Treetop hideaways, secluded villas and a woodland cabin – perfect settings for Valentine’s Day
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
Gabbard faces questions on vote raid, secret complaintSpeed Read This comes as Trump has pushed Republicans to ‘take over’ voting
