The Guggenheim Museum has reportedly denied a request from the White House to borrow a Van Gogh painting for the president’s living quarters. Not to be uncharitable, the museum is said to have offered a golden toilet instead.
READ MORE: A throne fit for a king: Golden toilet available for use at the Guggenheim
Hoping to hang ‘Landscape With Snow’ in the private wing of the presidential residence, Trump’s staff wrote to museum curator Nancy Spector asking if she could facilitate the loan of the 130-year-old artwork, according to the Washington Post.
Spector reportedly explained that the piece was part of a series of paintings presented to the Guggenheim by the Thannhausers, a family renowned for developing and disseminating priceless artworks, and could not be lent. However, in what seems a very literal attempt at toilet humor, the curator reportedly explained that an 18-karat commode was available instead.
"It is, of course, extremely valuable and somewhat fragile, but we would provide all the instructions for its installation and care," Spector said in an email seen by the Washington Post.
The piece, entitled ‘America’ and created by artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been exhibited in the museum’s public restroom for around a year before being taken away in September. Writing in an email to the White House, Spector reportedly said the toilet was available “should the president and first lady have any interest in installing it in the White House.”
RT.com has reached out to the Guggenheim for comment.