OXFORD, June 14 (DW) – An Oxford court sentenced two men to prison on Friday for the 2019 theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-carat solid gold toilet sculpture from Blenheim Palace. The fully functional artwork, titled America, was valued at £4.75 million ($6.4M) and ripped from its plumbing during a nighttime heist at Winston Churchill’s birthplace.
James Sheen, 40, received a 4-year sentence consecutive to his existing 19-year term for ATM attacks and museum burglary. Prosecutors identified Sheen as the sledgehammer-wielder who removed the 98kg (216lb) toilet. Michael Jones, 39, was jailed for 27 months for conducting reconnaissance – including test-using the toilet, which he called “splendid” – though the judge noted uncertainty about his direct burglary involvement. The artwork was likely melted down post-theft and remains missing.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site suffered £500k+ in flood damage during the raid. Other gang members were previously sentenced for the audacious art heist. Cattelan created the toilet as social commentary on excess; it previously displayed at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, where staff famously offered it on loan to Donald Trump’s White House in 2017 (an offer declined in favor of a Van Gogh request).
