S.A.'s famous Toilet Seat Art Museum being sold to the highest bidder

Barney Smith, 92, has made more than 1,000 custom toilet seats for his Alamo Heights garage museum. Barney Smith, 92, has made more than 1,000 custom toilet seats for his Alamo Heights garage museum. Photo: KIN MAN HUI Photo: KIN MAN HUI Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close S.A.'s famous Toilet Seat Art Museum being sold to the highest bidder 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Barney Smith has spent nearly half his life creating friendships through his trove of toilet seat art.

But now he's ready to auction it off.

Turning trash to treasure has been Smith's hobby for more than 50 years, he told mySA.com. He is the owner of Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum and 1,200 ornately decorated lid covers that he has created works of art on.

Generations of oddity oglers from around the world have stopped by 239 Abiso Ave., in Alamo Heights, to check out Smith's collection and chat with him.

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Smith is passionate about his museum. He loves talking to visitors and working on toilet seats until 4 a.m. But with Smith three years from reaching centenarian status he and his family have decided to part ways with the exhibit.

"He's 97 years old and he just can't keep going out there everyday," his daughter Julia Murders said.

Murders said her father used to "jump up" whenever a visitor scheduled a tour of his quirky collection. But now his dementia affects how he communicates with guests — one of his favorite parts of the show. Smith sends off each museum visitor by reciting the poem he learned when he was 12 years old, Rudyard Kipling's "When Earth's Last Picture is Painted."

He hasn't been able to remember the poem in its entirety lately and that "really bothers" him, Murders said.

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Smith started off by festooning lids with household items like buttons, but as his museum became more popular, fans began sharing historical relics with him.

Now, some lids feature pieces of the Berlin Wall, barbed wire from Auschwitz, Suddam Hussein's toilet and NASA's space shuttle Challenger.

But there's still one thing missing from Smith's toilet tenure. He has always wanted signatures from the San Antonio Spurs to feature on one of his potty pieces. They're hoping someone from the Spurs organization reaches out before Smith retires from the museum business.

In the meantime, the family is moving forward with the sale. Murders said her father originally wanted to start the bidding at $10,000, but she advised him against setting a price that low.

"I said, 'Oh daddy, you're crazy. A lifetime of work you're going to sell for $10,000,'" she said.

Instead, they'll see what people offer. Interested bidders must set up an appointment between 1 and 3 p.m. by calling 210-824-7791. The family will decide for how much, and when, they will sell the lot based off of the bids generated by the appointments.

They're hoping whoever buys the toilet seats keeps them together.

"We're hoping someone will take it and show it to the public like daddy has," his daughter said.

When the toilets are gone, Smith will remain a celebrity in his Alamo Heights neighborhood and to anyone who has met him. Scrolling through the museum's Facebook reviews shows how revered Smith has become to anyone who has spent a few minutes chatting with him.

"People say they come to the museum to find treasure, but they end up finding a treasure in him," Murders said. "Everybody loves him."

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye