How much would you pay for a banana taped to a wall? That question was on everyone’s mind at Sotheby’s, the New York City auction house, on November 20. The artwork was auctioned to the highest bidder. Final price: $6.2 million.
Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist, first displayed the work in 2019. It became a viral sensation. It made people question “what we define as an artwork,” says David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s.
Cattelan’s banana from five years ago is, of course, long gone. The artwork is intended to be refreshed every few days. What was sold “is not the banana itself,” says Galperin, “but a certificate of authenticity.” The certificate allows the owner “to reproduce this banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Maurizio Cattelan.”
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