A banana duct-taped to a wall has sold for £4.9 million – part of the evolving relationship between art and finance

By Benedict Carpenter van Barthold, Lecturer, School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University

On the evening of November 20, Sotheby’s auction house sold an artwork by Maurizio Cattelan for an astonishing sum. The piece, entitled Comedian, is not a conventional painting or sculpture. It consists of an ordinary banana, duct-taped to a wall at a jaunty angle. The hammer price? A staggering US$6.2 million (£4.9 million).

The widespread incredulity surrounding this exorbitant price has been tinged with humour. The sale has been perceived by many as a kind of jest at the expense…

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