Artworks created as pranks that became valuable
0Loading crowd target
Questions and sources
Artworks Created as Pranks That Became Valuable — Daily trivia Saturday, February 28, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01What did Marcel Duchamp title the store-bought urinal he submitted to an art exhibition?
- AThe Source
- BFountain
- CBasin
- DPorcelain Dream
Show answer
Fountain
Duchamp signed the urinal 'R. Mutt 1917' and titled it Fountain; the Society of Independent Artists' show hid it behind a partition.
Q 02Which artist duct-taped a banana to a gallery wall as a $120,000 piece titled 'Comedian'?
- ABanksy
- BMaurizio Cattelan
- CDamien Hirst
- DJeff Koons
Show answer
Maurizio Cattelan
Maurizio Cattelan sold two editions of his taped banana for US$120,000 each at Art Basel Miami Beach; one later went for US$6.2 million at Sotheby's in 2024.
Q 03Which everyday object, left on SFMOMA's floor by teenage pranksters, did visitors then photograph as art?
- AA shopping bag
- BA coffee cup
- CA pair of glasses
- DA sneaker
Show answer
A pair of glasses
A pair of glasses: San Jose teenagers TJ Khayatan and Kevin Nguyen set them on the gallery floor, and within minutes some visitors were photographing them as art.
Q 04What do the labels on Piero Manzoni's 90 sealed art tins say they contain?
- AGold dust
- BThe artist's own feces
- CCrushed pigments
- DPlaster of Paris
Show answer
The artist's own feces
The artist's own feces, the labels say, but nobody can confirm it, because opening a tin would destroy its value.
Q 05What was Banksy's 'Girl with Balloon' renamed after shredding itself at Sotheby's?
- ALove is in the Bin
- BShredded Hope
- CRemains of the Day
- DGirl with Shredded Balloon
Show answer
Love is in the Bin
Banksy's Pest Control renamed the half-shredded canvas Love is in the Bin, and in 2021 it resold at Sotheby's for £18.6 million, about 18 times its 2018 price.
Q 06Which animal really painted the works Swedish critics praised as the abstract art of 'Pierre Brassau'?
- AAn elephant
- BA chimpanzee
- CA parrot
- DA dog
Show answer
A chimpanzee
A chimpanzee named Peter from Borås Zoo; journalist Åke Axelsson staged the hoax, and one critic wrote that Brassau painted 'with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination'.
Q 07In which London institution did Banksy secretly hang a fake cave painting?
- AThe National Gallery
- BTate Britain
- CThe V&A
- DThe British Museum
Show answer
The British Museum
The British Museum: Banksy's 'Peckham Rock' sat in its Roman Britain gallery for three days before staff noticed, and in 2018 he lent it back for an exhibition.
Q 08Hermann Göring traded 137 looted Old Master paintings for a single fake by which art forger?
- AElmyr de Hory
- BJohn Myatt
- CHan van Meegeren
- DEric Hebborn
Show answer
Han van Meegeren
Han van Meegeren's fake Vermeer, Christ with the Adulteress, fooled Göring; charged after the war with aiding the enemy, he proved it a forgery by painting another 'Vermeer' before witnesses.
Q 09Which artist created 'Erased de Kooning Drawing'?
- AJasper Johns
- BCy Twombly
- CAndy Warhol
- DRobert Rauschenberg
Show answer
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg asked Willem de Kooning himself for a drawing to erase and spent over a month rubbing it out; the near-blank sheet has belonged to SFMOMA since 1998.
Q 10In what unusual material did forger John Myatt often paint his roughly 200 fakes instead of oil?
- AK-Y Jelly mixed with emulsion
- BWatercolor pencils
- CAcrylic house paint
- DCoffee and charcoal
Show answer
K-Y Jelly mixed with emulsion
John Myatt mixed K-Y Jelly with standard household emulsion paint to mimic the texture of oil paint. His forgeries fooled auction houses including Christie's and Sotheby's for years before he was caught in 1995.
How to play
- One question at a time, four options. Tap an answer to lock it in.
- You see the answer and a short explanation right away.
- Harder questions and faster answers earn more points. Share your score at the end.