Maurizio Cattelan’s $6.2m Banana Has Been ‘Stolen’—Again

News / Fairs and Auctions Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun Eats $6.2m Banana Elaine YJ Zheng

Maurizio Cattelan’s notorious 2019 work Comedian, which consists of a single banana duct-taped to a wall, has been “stolen” by a person or persons unknown from the Pompidou Centre’s outpost in the French city of Metz.

According to the museum, the banana’s disappearance from the exhibition Endless Sunday: Maurizio Cattelan and the Centre Pompidou Collection took place at around 2pm on Saturday. 

Though the “perishable element” of the work was quickly restored, the museum confirmed that it has filed a complaint with authorities. “The artwork’s value lies in its certificate of authenticity and the protocol governing its display, rather than in its perishable component,” a statement said.

“Nevertheless, the institution condemns this act, which undermines the respect due to the exhibited works and temporarily deprives visitors of part of the exhibition experience.”

This is not the first time that Cattelan’s famous banana has fallen victim to a museum-goer. In July last year, a presumably peckish visitor ate a previous version of the work on display in the same exhibition.

On this occasion, the museum chose not to file a police report and, in a statement, Cattelan voiced his disappointment that the visitor had not chosen to eat the banana’s skin and tape. 

Comedian’s history as a snack dates back to its inception. In 2019, when the work was first unveiled at Art Basel Miami Beach, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, peeled it, and ate it in front of  a stunned crowd.

More recently, in November 2024, Chinese collector and crypto investor Justin Sun bought the work at Sotheby’s for $6.2m USD (£4.6m).

He then gathered members of the media to watch him take several bites out of the fruit. “Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” he said at the time.