Marcel Duchamp's 1917 submission of a urinal titled 'Fountain' to the Independent Artists' exhibition at the Grand Central Palace fundamentally reshaped the art market. Duchamp's alphabetical installation of 2,400 works by 1,300 artists, including his provocative readymade, challenged traditional exhibition norms. This chaotic setup, where 'C' artists like Jean Crotti were grouped without artistic criteria, mirrored the Palace's history of open-access fairs like the Hotel Men's Expo. The urinal, submitted under the pseudonym 'R.

Mutt', vanished but later became iconic, voted the most influential modern artwork. Its legacy lies in shifting art's value from beauty to conceptual interrogation, influencing postwar art markets and museum acquisitions.