A donation of 500 guitars to the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork this previous Might was perceived as a specific thrilling addition to the gathering—so thrilling, actually, that the donation even introduced through a long-form profile within the New Yorker. However that donation might embody one object which will have made it into the donation by sick means.
In a New York Put up story revealed on July 10, a supervisor for former Rolling Stones musician Mick Taylor claimed that the Met was now in possession of his stolen Les Paul guitar. That guitar was taken from the Rolling Stones’s French villa, in Nellcôte, in 1971, the 12 months when thieves reportedly absconded with 9 of Keith Richards’ guitars, amongst different devices.
The Met initially didn’t touch upon Taylor’s claims, however on August 1, the New York Occasions revealed a report that added one other twist to the story: the museum claimed that Taylor did certainly play the guitar however that he by no means really owned it.
“This guitar has an extended and well-documented historical past of possession,” the museum advised the Occasions.
The five hundred guitars got to the Met by collector Dirk Ziff. On the time, Met director Max Hollein mentioned the guitars composed “a trailblazing and transformative reward, positioning the Museum to be the epicenter for the appreciation and examine of the American guitar.”
In 2027, the museum plans to open a everlasting gallery about American guitars, with some works from the reward on view right here.
It isn’t clear how from the Put up story Taylor found that his guitar was held by the Met. The guitars are usually not presently on view, and an entire guidelines of them has not been launched to the general public. The Met’s launch did point out Keith Richards, one other Rolling Stones member, however the museum mentioned it had a 1959 Les Paul performed by him in 1964. Taylor was not talked about in that announcement.
However Taylor’s supervisor, Marlies Damming, claimed that the Met did have Taylor’s guitar. “There are quite a few images of Mick Taylor enjoying this Les Paul, because it was his fundamental guitar till it disappeared,” Demming advised the Put up. “The fascinating factor about these classic Les Pauls (from the late Nineteen Fifties), is that they’re famend for his or her flaming . . . which is exclusive, like a fingerprint.”
The report additionally cited an unnamed supply, who mentioned, “Taylor says he by no means obtained compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property discovered its method into the Met’s assortment.”
The Occasions report acknowledged that Keith Richards, one other Stones bandmate, owned the guitar and that the instrument was by no means stolen. By 1971, Adrian Miller was listed because the guitar’s proprietor, however the Occasions reported that it was unclear, primarily based on the Met’s provenance, how and from whom Miller purchased the instrument.
This text was initially revealed on July 16, 2025, at 12:04 p.m., and has now been up to date with extra particulars concerning the Met’s response.
