Read Sarah Thornton’s excellent Economist story that tries to detail the history of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain in the years since the artist re-created it. It would be unfair to quote the story at length here. So let’s summarize. The original Fountain from 1917 was lost. After the second World War, Duchamp’s reputation created demand for the work. First, curators were authorized to buy examples. Later, a group was recreated. But even then the object was not coveted. Let’s let Thornton take it from here:
Every edition has a story, but there is no beating the provenance of the 13th one. Dubbed “the prototype” and bearing Duchamp’s signature, it slipped quietly onto the market in 1973 at the then fledgling gallery of Ronald Feldman in New York. Andy Warhol, who visited the gallery repeatedly, pressed Mr Feldman to trade the urinal for some of his own portraits. “Duchamp didn’t sell well in those days,” says Mr Feldman, “but Andy knew what multiples meant because he made them.”Continue Reading