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Smithsonian Magazine ·Smart escape

Someone Stole a Banana Duct-Taped to the Wall of a French Museum. One of Its Duplicates Fetched More Than $6 Million at Auction

Published 2026-06-02 17:43:00+00:00

If a masterpiece is just a banana, what does a thief really walk away with?

0:00 / 5:21 · Narrator Rasalgethi

Context

Writing on 2 June 2026, the Smithsonian observes the latest disappearance of Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana from a French museum. The piece looks past the absurdity of a multi-million-dollar piece of produce to dwell on the friction between a perishable object and a permanent certificate of authenticity. It considers whether these repeated thefts and public feedings are disruptions or simply the logical conclusion of a work designed to test the rules of the art market and the fragility of what is deemed valuable.

Show notes

Maurizio Cattelan’s conceptual artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, serves as a case study in the mechanics of the contemporary art market. The history of the work includes several instances of the fruit being eaten or stolen, illustrating how its multi-million-dollar valuation resides in a certificate of authenticity rather than its perishable elements. The artist’s own reflections frame the piece as a commentary on the nature of value and materialism.

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