Police in Britain have arrested a second man in connection with the theft of a solid-gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit at the birthplace and home of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The 18-carat toilet, titled “America,” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of a larger exhibit of Cattelan’s work at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
Police said 36-year-old man, from Cheltenham, was arrested and later released pending an investigation. Police also arrested and released on bail a 66-year-old man suspected of being part of the gang responsible for the theft.
The toilet was previously on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum where “more than 100,000 people have waited patiently in line for the opportunity to commune with art and with nature” museum officials said at the time.
Last year, the chief curator at the Guggenheim offered to lend the golden toilet to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump when they asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private White House quarters.
Cattelan has said the toilet is meant to be a satirical piece on excess wealth. “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise,” he has said.
