A PIED-À-MER FOR LIFELONG TRAVELERS

IN 2019, the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created Comedian, a series of three identical pieces, each consisting of a fresh banana diagonally duct-taped to a wall.

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One is at the Guggenheim. Another was devoured by cryptocurrency platform founder Justin Sun, who paid $6.2 million for the fruit-based artwork at a Sotheby's auction last November.

And the third was on display at Fredy’s Deli, the café aboard The World, in January when I visited the super-luxe residential megayacht. The C-suiters, surgeons, real estate tycoons, and tech innovators who live—at least for some months of the year—on the 644-foot-long ship can gaze at the controversial conceptual artwork on their way to grab one of Fredy’s excellent smashburgers.

I prodded for the identity of Comedian’s owner, but Robin Edwards, a retired corporate attorney and chairwoman of The World’s sales and marketing committee, wasn’t biting. Privacy is paramount for the owners of the ship's 165 residences, which range from 300-square-foot studios to a spacious three-bed-room apartment currently listed at $12.5 million.

I had joined Robin and her husband, Rich, a Navy veteran and retired investment banker, at the ship’s Asian restaurant, East, during a three-night trip from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Rich wore gray on gray (Venetian shirt, Marseilles blazer) and a mustache to match. Robin was in a lotus-print blouse from Hawaii and had just had the sleeves taken in by the onboard tailor. They both turned 77 last year, and were sitting so close together it looked like they were holding hands under the table.

I'd like them to be my grandparents, and not just because they have a spare bedroom in the two-bed, two-bath they bought in 2015. While they have a home in the Bay Area (a residency on land is required for tax purposes) and visit their kids and grandkids in Virginia and Connecticut, they spend most of their time on The World.