How a viral, duct-taped banana came to be worth $1 million

Walk into any supermarket and you can usually buy a banana for less than $1. But a banana duct-taped to a wall? That might sell for more than $1 million at an upcoming auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The yellow banana fixed to a white wall with silver duct tape is an artwork entitled “Comedian,” by Maurizio Cattelan. It debuted at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair in 2019. “Comedian” is expected to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million at the Nov. 20 auction. Bidders won’t be buying the same fruit that was on display in Miami. Those bananas are long gone. Sotheby’s says the fruit always was meant to be replaced regularly.