'World's most expensive banana' sells for $5.2m at auction

When a piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach, viewers thought it might be a joke.

“Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan attracted so much attention at the time – and at one point was eaten by another artist – that it had to be withdrawn from view.

But three editions sold for between $120,000 and $150,000, according to the gallery handling sales at the time.

Now one of those editions has sold for a whopping $5.2m (£4.1m) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, the winning bid coming from a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur.

Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON, has essentially purchased a certificate of authenticity that gives him the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it “Comedian.”

The piece attracted heavy attention at the busy auction at Sotheby’s, with attendees in the crowded room holding up phones to take photos as two handlers wearing white gloves stood at both sides of the banana.

Bidding started at $800,000 and within minutes shot up to $2m, then $3m, then $4m, and higher, as the auctioneer, Oliver Barker, joked “Don’t let it slip away.”

“Don’t miss this opportunity,” Barker said. “These are words I’ve never thought I’d say: Five million dollars for a banana.”

The final hammer price announced in the room was $5.2m, but the buyer also had to fork out around $1m in auction house fees.

In a statement, Sun said the piece “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.”

He said the latest version of “Comedian” won’t last long and pledged to eat it.

“Additionally, in the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture,” Sun said.

Sotheby’s calls Cattelan “among Contemporary Art’s most brilliant provocateurs.”

“He has persistently disrupted the art world’s status quo in meaningful, irreverent, and often controversial ways,” the auction house said in a description of “Comedian.”