In 1935 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City held a major exhibition of works by Vincent van Gogh. Assuming that some visitors to the show were more interested in the sensational aspects of Van Gogh's life than in his paintings, American artist Hugh Troy contrived a simple practical joke. He molded a piece of beef and placed it in a velvet-lines box with a label that read: "This is the ear which Vincent van Gogh cut off and sent to his mistress, a French prostitute, Dec. 24, 1888." Troy smuggled his supplementary exhibit into the museum and placed it on a table. Until authorities were altered, the ear stole the show.

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