Here’s a funny anecdote from today’s Washington Post: Donald and Melania Trump reached out to the Guggenheim asking to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private living quarters. Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector declined the request and instead offered the Trumps an 18-karat, fully functioning, solid gold toilet.
The toilet, created by Maurizio Cattelan, is called “America” and is widely believed to be a pointed commentary on America’s excess of wealth. The toilet has been on exhibit in a public restroom on the Guggenheim’s fifth floor. More than 100,000 people have waited “patiently in line for the opportunity to commune with art and with nature,” according to Spector.
The artist “would like to offer it to the White House for a long-term loan,” wrote Spector in a letter to the Trumps. “It is, of course, extremely valuable and somewhat fragile, but we would provide all the instructions for its installation and care.”
The White House has declined to say whether or not the Trumps plan to take Spector up on the offer. But if they do, might I recommend some Trump-branded toilet paper?