Shunting aside qualms about an art market slump ... knockoff of sorts as well —“Clown,” a print and watercolor Cattelan made of the banana to raise money for New York’s New Museum.

A print of his best-known ... After four years of art school, Mr. Cattelan must have cycled through countless theories of what a banana is “supposed” to be. Is it a kind of phallic idol?

Cattelan’s banana art journey began in 2019 when he first exhibited the work at the Art Basel Miami Beach International Art Fair. Three editions of the Comedian sold for $120,000 and $150,000.