Skip to main content
institutional access

You are connecting from
Lake Geneva Public Library,
please login or register to take advantage of your institution's Ground News Plan.

Published loading...Updated

French Museum Reports Theft of Arty Banana

The museum said it replaced the fruit and filed a theft complaint after a guard found the artwork’s banana missing.

  • On Sunday, the Pompidou-Metz museum in France reported the theft of a banana forming the centerpiece of Maurizio Cattelan's artwork "Comedian" to police, after a guard noticed it missing on Saturday.
  • To keep the work contemporary, the perishable banana centerpiece is replaced every three days, making routine maintenance essential for the conceptual artwork.
  • Interference with the piece is not new; performance artist David Datuna ate the banana at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach, saying he felt "hungry."
  • The Pompidou-Metz lodged a criminal complaint against persons unknown, stating "there is no possibility of dialogue" because the perpetrator remains unidentified and this marks the second incident.
  • Beyond the banana, Cattelan is known for the gold toilet "America," which was stolen from an 18th-century stately home in the United Kingdom, birthplace of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.
Insights by Ground AI

65 Articles

Lean Left

The museum exhibit was displayed at the Pompidou-Metz Centre.

Lean Right

The banana of the work 'Comedian', by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen this Saturday at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, where it is part of the...

·Madrid, Spain
Read Full Article
Lean Left

The banana from the work "Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan makes headlines again. At the Centre Pompidou-Metz it was not eaten but stolen.

The banana from the work "Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan keeps making headlines. Several times it was eaten, this time it was stolen from the Centre Pompidou-Metz.

·Munich, Germany
Read Full Article

The Centre Pompidou-Metz has lost Maurizio Cattelan's banana art. In a different way than usual.

·Zürich, Switzerland
Read Full Article

At the Centre Pompidou Metz, a controversial work of art by the artist Maurizio Cattelan is stolen: it is a banana with a tape attached to the wall – worth five million euros.

·Frankfurt, Germany
Read Full Article
Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 53% of the sources lean Right
53% Right

Factuality Info Icon

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

Info Icon

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

3cat.cat broke the news on Sunday, May 31, 2026.
Too Big Arrow Icon
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics

News
Feed Dots Icon
For You
Search Icon
Search
Blindspot LogoBlindspotLocal