25 February, 2018
A New York museum has turned down a White House request to borrow a Van Gogh painting, and instead offered a golden toilet. The request from the Trump administration to the Guggenheim Museum was for an 1888 Van Gogh painting, Landscape With Snow.
However, Guggenheim chief curator Nancy Spector turned down the request. Instead, she offered Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-carat gold toilet. The toilet, named America, is fully functional.
Ms Spector told the administration that it was available “should the President and First Lady have any interest in installing it in the White House”. The toilet had been on display for almost a year, and during that time more than 100,000 people have paid it a visit.