Former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor is taking on an art institution in a rock ‘n’ roll showdown over a stolen guitar.
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Several months ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York revealed an extraordinary acquisition: a historic collection of over 500 guitars owned by some of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century, including legends like Mississippi John Hurt and Leo Fender.
A 1959 Les Paul in the collection, once owned by Keith Richards, drew some major attention. Former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor expressed surprise that the guitar ended up in the collection.
“There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared,” Taylor’s manager, Marlies Damming, recently told Page Six. “The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls is that they are renowned for their flaming… which is unique, like a fingerprint.”
The Met Pushes Back on Claims That the Former Rolling Stones Member Ever Really Owned the Guitar
The Met claims that Taylor may have played the guitar but never owned it, per The Independent. According to the Met, Adrian Miller owned the guitar in 1971, though it’s unclear how he acquired it. That same year, the guitar was sold to Cosmo Verrico of the band Heavy Metal Kids.
Four years later, Taylor purchased the guitar from the Stones’ road manager, Ian Stewart, while still with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. He later brought it with him when he joined the Rolling Stones, a detail confirmed by journalists, guitar experts, and a Stones biographer.
According to some accounts, the 1959 Les Paul was one of the instruments stolen during a 1971 burglary at Villa Nellcôte in Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice. The band had been staying there while working on their iconic album, Exile on Main St. Thieves made off with nine guitars, including Bill Wyman’s bass and a saxophone owned by Bobby Keys.
The Les Paul was unsuccessfully auctioned at Christie’s in 2004 but was later purchased by Swedish producer Peter Svensson in 2006. In 2016, it was acquired by billionaire Dirk Ziff with help from music producer Perry Margouleff.
“We would like the Metropolitan Museum to make the guitar available so that we can inspect it, and confirm its provenance one way or the other,” Damming wrote to the New York Times.
The Met informed the outlet that it has not been contacted by anyone connected to Taylor. The museum plans to launch a permanent gallery dedicated to American guitars in 2027, showcasing select instruments from the 500 donated.